I made the jump---Homeschooling
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive April 2004:
I made the jump---Homeschooling
My story (I apologize for it being long!)
We had planned to start homeschooling next year. I was going to try it over the summer and upon success officially begin with a new school year.
Well, the best laid plans....
My daughter is in third grade. She has worked very hard to be an A student. She does not test well and in particular does not do well on FCAT. So in spite of her good grades we were told that it was likely she would not pass this year (she bombed the pretest). Last year the FCAT nonsense had her having asthma attacks on a daily basis. We decided we were going to pull her now so she could continue doing well and not destroy all the confidence she had begun to feel (but was starting to slip away on us from the test hype at school).
OK so I pulled her from school last week.
My son is doing fine academically in school. He is one of those children who just has it. School is easy for him. We want to homeschool him so he will be challenged more. He has been bullied all year and the school has continued to say if they didn't see it they cannot punish for it.
Well, It really hit the fan today.
He was harassed big time at school yesterday (without his sister to defend him) and today he stood up for himself. He hit back. The school just called (after holding him in the office all day long) He received in school suspension for fighting! I told the principal it was wrong. She said that he was caught fighting. It doesn't matter who threw the first punch or that he has been bullied by this child all year long. She said she was surprised because "He (my son) is one of their best students." I asked her then why wouldn't she protect her "best student" instead of allowing him to be bullied and then punishing him for defending himself. She said "We do not allow fighting- period. I have not seen the child bully him so I am surprised by this whole incident."
I had hoped to allow my son to remain in school through the year but the past few days he has been so miserable. Now this. Obviously he has reached his breaking point too.
Any advice from fellow homeschoolers is GREATLY appreciated. I am a bit overwhelmed by the amount of material out there (curriculums, supplies, etc.).
Yvonne
(((Yvonne))), wow what a story! Dh works in public schools so I constantly hear stories.
You will do great, it is tough, but your kids will be challenged and they will be thankful that you have made this step. We are in our 3rd year of private school/homeschooling. For us it is a lot more work than public schools, but they love it!
Good luck and don't give up! Just strive to do the best for your family, You can do it
I don't homeschool so I don't have advice (but I may be asking YOUR advice next year if I decide to make that same jump!) but I wanted to wish you luck and to ask you what the principal said about you pulling your son out? I bet the look on her face was priceless. If they can't keep him safe they shouldn't expect you to send him there. I agree with your decision completely.
How exciting for you to start homeschooling! Do you think the hitting incident was a sign of some kind?
I know there are a lot of resources for homeschooling moms and you'll hook up with a group or groups.
actually momtomom.com which is the board most of us came from is a homeschooling board or was at one time...
Good for you! That option is in the back of my mind all the time. My oldest is just in kindergarten now, and so far so good.
If I ever came to the situation you are in, I would make the same decision you did. Good luck to you....you'll have to let us know how it's going!
AWESOME! i was home schooled and everything turn out very well and i loved every minute of it!
we had a home school group called Y.E.A.H. (youth educated at home) and we got together alot so i was never with out friends and we had a great time! as far as curriculums go there are meetings and fairs a couple time a year for parents to check out books and lesson plans etc.
if u feel over whelmed feel free to contact me anytime!
remember have fun!
Yvonne!!!! Yeah!!
My son is only 3 but I am about 99% sure I will homeschool him (I am forever hearing horrific stories about public school-and it seems to get worse every year!). I may be asking you for advice in a couple of years!
I am sure you will all do FINE !!
Fiona
This has been a rough week. In my heart I KNOW homeschooling is the only answer for my children. I know I can do a better job than the school has done. BUT the fear of failure and failing my children is keeping me awake at night. The support group keeps telling me this is a normal feeling and everyone goes through it the first year. It is just so important. I do not want to make any mistakes.
We are pulling our son. Today is his last day of public school.
We are going to start fresh on Monday. I am going to do "unit studies" for the time being. This is where you pick a topic (ours is dinosaurs) and study it (using all aspects of math, science, reading, bible, history, etc.). I found a wonderful website that offers lesson plans. We have 2 weeks of lesson plans on this theme and then when we complete it we will go to the museum for a field trip.
I have not decided 100% on next years curriculum. There are so MANY choices and huge price differences. A lot of homeschoolers are telling me most of the packaged deals are a waste of money. It is common for a first time homeschooler to use them 1 year and then move on to a mix match of things (once the comfort level in the parent is reached).
There are several curriculum fairs coming up. I will attend one. This allows you to see and compare the actual products before purchasing.
Yesterday I was talking to to my daughter and asked her if she was still happy with the decision even if it meant I made her work harder than the school did.
She told me "Mommy, I am the happiest I have ever been in my whole life."
I guess I will need to keep that in the back of my head whenever the self doubt rises it's ugly head.
Congratulations! I don't have kids yet but I'm already planning to homeschool them. I'm glad I never got reported for the two times I hit bullying boys at public school! My favorite homeschooling board is at Vegsource.com. It's hosted by a homeschooling Vegan family, but you will find tons of insight from lots of different types of families. There are boards for Religious homeschoolers, Secular homeschoolers, High school homeschooolers, Military, general community, etc.
Vegsource Homeschool
I've been homeschooling for a full year now. I just do it half time, and only with one of my kids. Everyone in the house is so much happier, because her behaviour changed from day 1.
I often wonder if I'm doing enough for her. We are very informal, and use lots of different books, workbooks, etc. Yesterday her best friend was here, and I asked her what she was doing in math. I asked her a few multiplication questions, and she had no clue. Nicole knows most of them. When I pulled her she was in the learning centre, working at least 2 years behind. What we're doing now is mainly at grade level. The beauty of it is, you can stick at one thing until they get it. At school they have a certain amount of time, and then the whole class moves on.
I'm focussing on the things that will be the most important in the big scheme of things.
When I started out, I felt like I should be doing school at home, just as it's done at school. I've really changed!!! I think that as time passes, you'll find what works best for all of you, and you'll love it!!
Andyjoy....I just put vegsource on my favourites! My son is 3 and I will almost definitely homeschool him! My favourite board is unschooling.com.
I took a look at your profile. I noticed you like childrens books. I love,and am obsessed with kids books.I read them all the time.I especially like old ones or ones I had when I was a kid. I love all the Anne of Green Gables,all the Little House books,What Katy Did,Judy Blume books,Soup,How To Eat Fried Worms,......I could go on and on but don't want to bore anyone....
I would love to hear what you have one day. Maybe you could post it in the General Topics.....
Fiona
No advice for you, just best wishes for your family. I think you will do just fine. You might feel like you are failing in the beginning, but in no time, it will all make sense and you will be seeing the results of your hard work.
Keep us posted on how things go!
Brianna- I just posted on another thread with some questions about home schooling. I would LOVE your input, and also what your high school years were like, being home schooled.
I,too, am nervous, and hope that I am qualified. I am asking God for help.
Wow, this is strange. I started to post almost the same story as Yvonne. My son is in Gr. 8 though. He is an honor student 4.0average, very mature kind boy. He is constantly being harrassed by the kids at his school. Although the school has been very responsive to the bullying my son said to me the other day that the school (students at the school) are weighing very negatively on him. I don't want him to see the world as an ugly place, there are some wonderful people out there. We live in a small town. Alot of the people here have tons of family. It is so hard for him to find a decent friend he can relate to. Most of these boys are running around smackings girls bottoms, smoking etc....My ds just thinks they are nuts. He wants to homeschool next year. My concern is if he does will I ruin his education....no confidence. I will look into thest sites you have posted for more info. I'm so upset with some of these boys.....oh...My ds is invited to a luncheon at the school to honour his 4.0 achievement....I'm sure he will be made fun of that next. I am typing so fast, I guess I'm more upset than I thought.
Momaroze,
I doubt you could ruin his education. I am finding my son is not only capable of working at a higher grade level but also EXCITED about working at a higher level. He told me yesterday that it was so much fun doing school at home because he isn't bored.
Both of my children seem happier--granted we are only a couple weeks into this new journey.
The only problem I have come across is the amount of information/curriculum out there.
There is just so much to choose from!
We are still doing unit studies but are attending an Abeka meeting in a couple weeks to see if their curriculum will work for us. It is quite expensive but is well known and used in a lot of private schools.
I am new to this but am more than happy to give you any information I can so if you have questions feel free to ask.
Yvonne
Oh thank-you Yvonne! I'm so happy for you and your children. A big sigh of relief for you I am sure. If I do have questions I will be sure to ask.
Update:
We are doing the A Beka curriculum. We are in our third week of the program. It IS harder than anything my daughter did in third grade (and we are only into the first month of third grade lessons!) but both kids are rising to the challenge.
They are so much happier now. It is a wonderful feeling not to be dealing with school issues every single night (for both them and my husband and I)
Yvonne
That is so great to hear.
Will you continue teaching this summer or give them a summer break?
My 10 year old cousin got suspended from school this year, for trying to stop a fight. But because a boy broke his arm, everyone had to be suspended. Zero tolerance! We were all pretty upset, you try to teach them to help some one & they get in trouble!
Yvonne, they used A Beka curriculum at the preschool that my oldest ds attended. It is wonderful. He is in K now, and so far ahead of his classs. Sounds like you are doing great with the homeschooling. Good for you. I am glad your dks are happy with it and doing well.
Emily7
Since we are starting the third grade A Beka program from the beginning (and my daughter was half way through third grade in public school) we will be working straight into the 4th grade curriculum.
That being said they had a nice long break after we did the dinosaur unit study in February.
I decided to let them take a breather while we checked out curriculums. I ordered the A Beka in March but it took a while to get here (it was backordered at first).
They will have a week off in July to go to Washington D.C. (my brother lives there) and we will make that a learning experience by studying the area before we go.
Thank you everyone for your support and good wishes. This was a difficult decison---That now I am happy I made.
Yvonne
Glad it is working out well for you all!
I'm glad it is going so well! Hope the success continues
I have to admit that I did not read all the posts above but did feel I had to add my two cents in.
I am in Canada, in particular, Alberta. I have teaching experience in both Alberta and British Columbia. It amazes me the array of tests that young students go through in the US. Again, I am not familiar with the US school system. The knowledge of governments tests that I have comes from participation in various teacher related mail rings.
What are we teaching our students when the decision of retention is based on the results of a "stupid" government test. I'm sorry but those tests, as far as I'm concerned, should be taken with a grain of salt. They test a student's performance on a given day. Last year, for instance, I had a speech path come into my first grade classroom and administer a test. It took 3 days of testing and since she could only come to our school on Mondays it spread over almost a month. Anyway, the results came in and I was told that one of my top students gave red flags and that I should be very concerned. I asked her to look at the dates of the testing. As it turned out, the section of the test that she had done poorly on was given on her first day back at school following the passing of her grandmother which whom she was very close. If I relied solely on those tests results to make a decision on retention....can you imagine!
Anyway, sorry for my rambling...all this testing just urks me. It should serve as "a" source of information for a teacher, not "the" source!
Glad the home schooling thing is working out.
Just one more note...again...I'm not sure how things work in the US but here in Alberta you can chose to register your child at a given school and still homeschool. Since the school is usually given so many $$$ per student they are required to pay for the correspondence courses.
Paula, I tend to agree with you.
We just had the 'Benchmark tests' in Arkansas the beginning of April. The teachers have *talked* about them all yr. In Feb they *really* started talking about them to the students. For 1-1/2 mos before the tests they constantly did practice tests with the students. They kept telling the kids how important it is to do well on these tests.... Apparently the results would show how well their particular schools/teachers were doing. My sons were soooo burned out on Benchmark by the time they actually took their tests they were saying they didnt care how they did, they just wanted to get the test over with so the teachers would HUSH about them. LOL Isnt that awful? MY oldest ds kept telling me if he did bad in an area of the exam, he would be required to either be held back in the same grade OR he would have to take special classes next yr. He said it didnt matter what grades were on his report this year, he could have all A's and if he did bad on the exam they would make him take special classes next yr??? I thought that was the most absurd thing I'd ever heard. ITs like saying hey why dont you all make C's and D's on your report card, because all that matters is how the benchmark scores come out. ie; good scores make the school and teachers look good, bad scores make the school / teachers look bad.
Anyway, all that aside, he is stil asking to homeschool and I may actually take the plunge and HS him beginning next Fall... We are going to try out some curriculum this summer. I wanted him to finish up his 6th gr yr before I began. This has been a tough yr... His teacher will flat out tell you she has too many kids to keep up with and basically if Brandond doesnt understand something she doesnt have time to work with him. 
Another thing that bugs me is that in our schools you have to be completely FAILING to get into the tutoring classes. If you are making a C you have to hire your own tutor and pay for it out of pocket. My middle ds isnt strong in math, he wanted to go to tutoring for extra help, his teacher said No, his grades werent low enough. I said, well they will be if he doesnt get the help he needs??? Anyway, so basically I have to teach them at home anyway... It kind of sends a mixed msg in my opinion. If you are avg, no one cares about you. If you are stupid you get help, if you are a straight 'A' brilliant student you can be in gifted and talented. There is a boy in Brad's class, he is so smart he gets to work out of a 6th gr math book (4th grader). He doesnt have to do the same things as the rest of the class. I think it is very interesting that the teacher has the TIME and RESOURCES for his special needs... grrrr
OK, I am done whining now. ;)
Do children who are homeschooled have to take the same tests as children enrolled in school outside the home? Do you have to file an education plan with your district or school system? Is it monitored or regulated in any way? Just curious. I'm not all that familiar with homeschooling - probably because it wasn't that big when I was studying ed and when I was teaching in Brooklyn (in the city the parents want the kids out of the house as long as possible due to work) so it's the opposite problem of before and after school programs.
Both my sisters in law homeschool, and frankly, I've never really thought much about it, and never realized it had grown in popularity.
Ame
Ame
Every state has different laws about homeschooling.
In Florida you have several options:
Yearly testing
Yearly portfolio review
Or registering with a private (umbrella) school and not having a yearly review.
I chose to register with a private school. I am only required to submit attendance to them-- nothing else. I am keeping a portfolio for my own piece of mind but it is not required.
Next year I may have them tested to see how they have progressed. Since they are burned out on testing that is not a consideration for this year.
Ame, I had cousins that were homeschooled in the 80's and they had many friends that were homeschooled. So, I have always been around it I guess and thought of it as an option for my own children. One of my cousins is a SAHM now and homeschools her own children. The other is really, really smart and still continuing his college education. He went into the military, got out, got married, has 3 kids (1 is handicapped and takes alot of extra time), works full time, and goes to school full time. He is carrying a 4.0 in Computer Engineering program. So he must have learned something at home all those years...
My sil use to homeschool her children I dont know why she quit. She is divorced now and works full time. (sometimes 2 jobs if you count her catering) I am sure that has something to do with it.
My fil homeschooled his 2 stepchildren when they were at home.
All that being said... In Arkansas you are required to test in 5th , 7th and 10th gr I think?? I would have to look it up again. But it isnt the Benchmark exam that I was describing above. That is simply a test to see if the teachers/schools are doing there jobs. (which is ridiculous because they can only do so much right?) I dont think 5th, 7th and 10th is enough testing myself. I would probably want to have mine tested every yr to see where they stand, if they homeschool.
Where we live you do have to fill out an intent to homeschool form in your district, include what curriculum you plan to use, etc... We have several very large homeschool groups that meet in our area. So the kids get to hang out with friends there and they take classes (taught by the parents), go on field trips, have valentines partie's, etc... Some of these parents do have teaching degrees believe it or not. ;) The lady over the umbrella school in our area use to be a school teacher too.
I find it interesting that some of the teachers in our area either home school or have their kids in christian school. They dont have them in public school? And the prinicipal of one of our best christian schools, homeschool's his own children--they dont attend his school?? LOL
One of my best friends is a special ed teacher, she is homeschooling her Kindergartner this yr.
This is going to sounds really bad, but my ds has some issues with some of the Mexican's (no offense anyone!!) in his school CONSTANTLY trying to get him to fight. He feels like he doesnt even want to go to school because they pick on him all the time. He doesnt fight them, so he gets called names all day long. They have 'gangs' if you will. Drives me nuts to hear about it. I didnt have any of these issues in the 6th gr.?
Ok sorry, I have rambled on again. ;)
Thanks for all the info.
Ame
I havent posted here very much, and Im hoping to be better about that I had put together this whole post last night about trying to decide if Im going to continue homeschooling or not.
DH would prefer I homeschool. DS kept saying he wanted to go to school. I asked why and he said to make friends. We moved here almost a year ago and so far the only friends he has made are our neighbors across the street.
Its funny, last night I had no idea which way I was going to go on this... This morning I decided, after talking to DS. I asked him if we got him into boy scouts and stuff like that if he thought he could make friends that way and he said yes. He said if we did something like that, then he would be fine with homeschooling. He is seven btw.
So, I told DH that HE would have to be the one to do the scouts thing with DS, and could he commit to that, he said yes. So there you have it Now I just have to decide where to get the different curriculum from. I like that I go through a Charter school, but, still get the freedom of choosing what we teach
In Texas, homeschool kids don't have to take any of the govt tests.
Misty
Its funny...socialization is one of the reasons we wanted our kids removed from public school. Bad socialization that is. By homeschooling and having the kids in activities they are around peers that they share common interests with. I have my daughter in dance and my son is joining a karate class.
A lot of the kids they were forced to hang out with (in the classroom) were not kids we would have wanted them to be friends with outside of school. These kids were swearing, bullying, etc and the teachers just can not keep up with them. I do NOT blame the teachers. I blame the overcrowded classrooms.
Connie
I have met several people (through a homeschool support group) that are educators who are homeschooling their children. I think that speaks loudly about the public schools (if a teacher doesn't even want their child to attend the school they teach at-- what does that say about the system?)
Yija, I understand, and I think that was part of my husbands concern as well. I feel at peace with my choice, which, if you knew me, is pretty amazing LOL. (I tend to stress about everything.)
|
Members
