Good Morning! I was going to post yesterday but got busy when our trip to "just the library" also turned out to be a trip to the outlet store for summer sandals for two of the kids. :) Then I stopped by a "curriculum garage sale" from a retired teacher and picked up a few things.
Anyway, I am often asked by some people why I chose to homeschool and do I really like it?
The answer for the latter question is NO I do not really like it...I LOVE IT!
Let me back up a bit as to why we chose to homeschool. actually to be very truthful "I" chose to homeschool and spent a year convincing hubs it was a good idea. I had some help from the local public school two of our kids were in although they did not realize it. When I first heard about homeschooling it was through a parenting book called Creative Correction written by Lisa Whelchel aka Blair from The facts of life on tv. Lisa herself is a homeschooler and while I loved her book Creative Correction I found myself really intrigued about the fact she homeschooled her kids. Imagine my surprise as to the fact she also happened to have written a book on homeschooling! So I raced down to the library and checked it out. The way she wrote it was to interview 15 homeschooling families and started off the first chapter telling about her own, then she dedicated each chapter after that to the families she interviewed and let them tell their story in their way. By the way if your thinking about homeschooling this is a genious way to write a book and read it. There is so many different ways to homeschool and no one real "right" way. It is all about what is best for you and your family. I immediately brought up the idea to Hubs which he immediately shot down. Ok I figured I had a few years before the kids were even in school anyway. At Kindergarten time for Honey Nut Hubs was still insisting she attend public school so I thought ok fine. She did pretty well for kindergarten but I was secretly disappointed in it. For one thing around our district the kids are supposed to have a PHD by the time they finish Kindergarten and if they don't "measure up" then they are labled as being behind and need summer school, which they want US to pay for. So we did the summerschool thing for a month that is how long it is...but it is for the bargain price of 320.00. :) pathetic. anyway then she went into 1st grade and trix went into the special education preschool program which happens to be held at the same school Honey Nut was going to. this was a new school to them because we moved (same district different boundary line) and also my mother in law who lived with us had just passed away so there was a lot of changes in store. Honey Nut did not handle them that well. Trix did ok till spring when his sensory issues kicked into high gear. Without going into detail becasue it would make this post about 14 pages long, I will say that the school they changed to was "not the right school for us" The principal had some good ideas but did not want to handle any kids that required actual work, or had any issues, and she was backed up by the dean of students . Together their solution to everything was to "send the kids home". Ok great! I missed my kids anyway and it just reinforced my desire to homeschool much more. The way they chose to "dismiss" any issues also made a clear point to Hubs. So in a funny way I should thank them because if it weren't for the fact that they handled things the way they did I may not have convinced hubs to agree to try. lol It was not an easy decision though. Even though in my heart I was convinced it was the right choice, I was in a word T-E-R-R-I-F-I-E-D. What if it was the wrong decision? What if I was screwing up my kids education? Well what choice did I have I was getting calls from the school almost daily so I completely quit answering the phone lol. Oh and did I mention that the principal when she found out I was pulling my kids out to homeschool called me to "warn" me that this is a "very big decision and a lot of work" that I need to really be careful with my children that this could not be a good move for them. oh yeah I just woke up one day and said hum dee dee I think I will homeschool. :) lol I laughed at her and told her that at least at "my school" they won't be labeled problem kids when they actually werent.
We started. Here is some of the things I have witnessed since we started homeschooling.
1. Honey Nut is a lot happier and is finally understanding the work the school was ready to pass her on in order to put her onto the next more difficult subject fully knowing that she did not understand what was already being taught.
2. She enjoys schoolwork now and loves that she can work on something until she is finished and not because the bell rings.
3. My children are much closer now.
4. Honey Nut is starting to really enjoy reading and has a newfound love for it. A subject she used to hate.
5. Trix has a lot less issues with his sensory skills because he is getting the one on one time he needs and I am able to work around his sensory processing issues now that I know what works for him and what does not. He has made HUGE strides!
6. Trix speech is so much better since I have been working with him to the point even my dad who was not thrilled with my decision even mentioned he has noticed a big change in Trix and his communication. I don't need his approval of course but it is nice to know he noticed something we have worked so hard on.
7. Lucky Charms is and has always been very advanced and I knew that if I put him in a public school that unless he was fortunate enough to get a teacher who could make sure she had extra stuff to do for him when he gets through assignments so fast...he would be getting into trouble.
8. My children have learned more about real life as well...I mean the day to day running of a house, they all are able to fold and correctly put away their own laundry at 8,6,and 4.5 years old.
9. We have gone on fun field trips, started up a new hobby called letterboxing, Honey Nut now loves to scrapbook with me and is making one of her work for this year.
10. The best thing I have witnessed is the kids working together instead of fighting all the time. Honey Nut sat down and read to her siblings and the daycare kids the other day without being asked. My favorite thing is when I see them working together in the backyard to build a fort, or play a game.
Well for such a "big decision" I think I did pretty well. Since Hubs was laid off he was actually able to see what we do during the day and he has quit asking me "are you tired of this yet do you want to put them back in school next year?" I think he is a tough one to crack and although I think he is still working on being completely convinced I do believe he has seen the benefits and is a lot softer on the subject now. :) He is really excited when the kids come running up to him to show him one of the things they just completed. For instance Honey Nut just finished her math book, ok so she is at the end of her 2nd grade year and that was the end of the first grade mathbook (it comes in two books) but that is ok because she actually understands it better because she had no idea what she was doing at the beginning of the year with it. we are doing this year round and she is already sailing through the next level and she is not being made to feel bad about it. It actually took me awhile to re teach her the stuff the school glossed over, and made sure she really understood it. now that she does her confidence is much higher, she says she feels smart now. :)
let me make a small disclaimer here. I am not against public schools, in fact I know there are some good ones out there, the one my kids were in was not good, every story I have heard this year from parents going through the same troubles justifies my decision even more, and the school they were in was just not right for OUR family. In fact it is a elementary school in a district that is top in the state. However I am very pro homeschooling, but I know it is not right for everyone it is right for me. :) I love being the one who witnesses it when my kids "get it" in a assignment, or when they are excited about learning about butterflies etc.
Ok this turned into a really really really long post and I need to start the days assignments so I will talk with you all later. I hope everyone has a great long weekend!
The cheerio Queen
Anyway, I am often asked by some people why I chose to homeschool and do I really like it?
The answer for the latter question is NO I do not really like it...I LOVE IT!
Let me back up a bit as to why we chose to homeschool. actually to be very truthful "I" chose to homeschool and spent a year convincing hubs it was a good idea. I had some help from the local public school two of our kids were in although they did not realize it. When I first heard about homeschooling it was through a parenting book called Creative Correction written by Lisa Whelchel aka Blair from The facts of life on tv. Lisa herself is a homeschooler and while I loved her book Creative Correction I found myself really intrigued about the fact she homeschooled her kids. Imagine my surprise as to the fact she also happened to have written a book on homeschooling! So I raced down to the library and checked it out. The way she wrote it was to interview 15 homeschooling families and started off the first chapter telling about her own, then she dedicated each chapter after that to the families she interviewed and let them tell their story in their way. By the way if your thinking about homeschooling this is a genious way to write a book and read it. There is so many different ways to homeschool and no one real "right" way. It is all about what is best for you and your family. I immediately brought up the idea to Hubs which he immediately shot down. Ok I figured I had a few years before the kids were even in school anyway. At Kindergarten time for Honey Nut Hubs was still insisting she attend public school so I thought ok fine. She did pretty well for kindergarten but I was secretly disappointed in it. For one thing around our district the kids are supposed to have a PHD by the time they finish Kindergarten and if they don't "measure up" then they are labled as being behind and need summer school, which they want US to pay for. So we did the summerschool thing for a month that is how long it is...but it is for the bargain price of 320.00. :) pathetic. anyway then she went into 1st grade and trix went into the special education preschool program which happens to be held at the same school Honey Nut was going to. this was a new school to them because we moved (same district different boundary line) and also my mother in law who lived with us had just passed away so there was a lot of changes in store. Honey Nut did not handle them that well. Trix did ok till spring when his sensory issues kicked into high gear. Without going into detail becasue it would make this post about 14 pages long, I will say that the school they changed to was "not the right school for us" The principal had some good ideas but did not want to handle any kids that required actual work, or had any issues, and she was backed up by the dean of students . Together their solution to everything was to "send the kids home". Ok great! I missed my kids anyway and it just reinforced my desire to homeschool much more. The way they chose to "dismiss" any issues also made a clear point to Hubs. So in a funny way I should thank them because if it weren't for the fact that they handled things the way they did I may not have convinced hubs to agree to try. lol It was not an easy decision though. Even though in my heart I was convinced it was the right choice, I was in a word T-E-R-R-I-F-I-E-D. What if it was the wrong decision? What if I was screwing up my kids education? Well what choice did I have I was getting calls from the school almost daily so I completely quit answering the phone lol. Oh and did I mention that the principal when she found out I was pulling my kids out to homeschool called me to "warn" me that this is a "very big decision and a lot of work" that I need to really be careful with my children that this could not be a good move for them. oh yeah I just woke up one day and said hum dee dee I think I will homeschool. :) lol I laughed at her and told her that at least at "my school" they won't be labeled problem kids when they actually werent.
We started. Here is some of the things I have witnessed since we started homeschooling.
1. Honey Nut is a lot happier and is finally understanding the work the school was ready to pass her on in order to put her onto the next more difficult subject fully knowing that she did not understand what was already being taught.
2. She enjoys schoolwork now and loves that she can work on something until she is finished and not because the bell rings.
3. My children are much closer now.
4. Honey Nut is starting to really enjoy reading and has a newfound love for it. A subject she used to hate.
5. Trix has a lot less issues with his sensory skills because he is getting the one on one time he needs and I am able to work around his sensory processing issues now that I know what works for him and what does not. He has made HUGE strides!
6. Trix speech is so much better since I have been working with him to the point even my dad who was not thrilled with my decision even mentioned he has noticed a big change in Trix and his communication. I don't need his approval of course but it is nice to know he noticed something we have worked so hard on.
7. Lucky Charms is and has always been very advanced and I knew that if I put him in a public school that unless he was fortunate enough to get a teacher who could make sure she had extra stuff to do for him when he gets through assignments so fast...he would be getting into trouble.
8. My children have learned more about real life as well...I mean the day to day running of a house, they all are able to fold and correctly put away their own laundry at 8,6,and 4.5 years old.
9. We have gone on fun field trips, started up a new hobby called letterboxing, Honey Nut now loves to scrapbook with me and is making one of her work for this year.
10. The best thing I have witnessed is the kids working together instead of fighting all the time. Honey Nut sat down and read to her siblings and the daycare kids the other day without being asked. My favorite thing is when I see them working together in the backyard to build a fort, or play a game.
Well for such a "big decision" I think I did pretty well. Since Hubs was laid off he was actually able to see what we do during the day and he has quit asking me "are you tired of this yet do you want to put them back in school next year?" I think he is a tough one to crack and although I think he is still working on being completely convinced I do believe he has seen the benefits and is a lot softer on the subject now. :) He is really excited when the kids come running up to him to show him one of the things they just completed. For instance Honey Nut just finished her math book, ok so she is at the end of her 2nd grade year and that was the end of the first grade mathbook (it comes in two books) but that is ok because she actually understands it better because she had no idea what she was doing at the beginning of the year with it. we are doing this year round and she is already sailing through the next level and she is not being made to feel bad about it. It actually took me awhile to re teach her the stuff the school glossed over, and made sure she really understood it. now that she does her confidence is much higher, she says she feels smart now. :)
let me make a small disclaimer here. I am not against public schools, in fact I know there are some good ones out there, the one my kids were in was not good, every story I have heard this year from parents going through the same troubles justifies my decision even more, and the school they were in was just not right for OUR family. In fact it is a elementary school in a district that is top in the state. However I am very pro homeschooling, but I know it is not right for everyone it is right for me. :) I love being the one who witnesses it when my kids "get it" in a assignment, or when they are excited about learning about butterflies etc.
Ok this turned into a really really really long post and I need to start the days assignments so I will talk with you all later. I hope everyone has a great long weekend!
The cheerio Queen
Hi Cheerio Q--
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more for you to do what YOU know is right for your children and their education. I'm sure it was scary at first...but it certainly sounds like you're off to a good start!
By the way...I discovered Letterboxing last year but haven't gotten started yet. I just went to Michael's and got a stamp pad to make my stamp...I'm so excited to find someone else in bloggyville that's doing it, too! What state do you live in? I'm near Atlanta, GA. Have a great week!!!