Homeschooling - SUPPORT GROUP

[BertandMary]

We have been homeschooling our oldest (16) a few years now, and have decided to pull our other two out of the performing arts school they are in and homeschool them also. The PA school has made a drastic turn in the last few months and several children are now talking about leaving.

Not sure what we are using with the oldest, but will ask my wife. My oldest usually has her day's work done in about 2 hours ( it is computer based) and usually volunteers 3 days a week at the nursing home, (she has done that since she was 12)

my wife was honeschooled and two of her sisters homeschooled their kids all the way. It wasn't feasible with us. Both of us had careers, and my military career kept me gone too much. Mary is a Director Of Nursing at a nursing home which will make volunteering there easy. With me being retired it is now an option. We are allowing them to finish elementary and then homeschooling as they finish that. Our youngest is in a language immersion program and just about to finish 2nd grade. Things are just to awful as they enter middle school here. Really glad we found this thread. NC is good with homeschooling but only if you establish it during their enrollment period. We are meeting with the school counselor to ask for a letter of recommendation to make it easier for an exception to policy with our state agency. Our kids can even participate in high school sports as homeschooled children if they choose. NC also also allows for and pays for community college during 11th and 12th grade if students have a B average. It is just tuition they pay for but how awesome is that. Getting set up this late in the year is the only real hurdle

 

[MrsMVP]

Just popping in to say I will be following this thread. My husband was home schooled K-8 and I went to public school K-12. Hubby dropped out of HS at 16 and I graduated from college. I think there was such a dramatic difference because my family emphasized the value and importance of school while his family put manual labor (they owned a farm) above the kids education. I also grew up in a different state and my parents made sure we went to above average public schools. We currently live in CA in the country. Great location- horrible school district. Long story short we have 2 little ones (ages 1 & 2) and are considering home schooling if we can't move into a good school district relatively soon.

 

[MeepBeep]

After seeing how horribly the public schools failed my stepson (in his 20s now) and being wiser now with age, the wife and I refused to repeat that with our younger children, when we went for round two that are currently 2, 4, 6...

We made the decision years ago to home school them, between the first hand experience watching the public schools fail previously, the recent trend in public schools in regards to teaching philosophy that we both agree is bad, the forced political correctness being schooled, and the fact we live in a horrible school district as well as a few other factors reinforced the decision...

We decided that would would allow all the children to go to two years of private/community preschool so that they could meet and socialize with other local children since we live in a rural area not a neighborhood, as well as this getting them in the mindset of school/learning... And we also started to attend some home school programs at the library for socialization...

I should also mention we live in Illinois where home schooling is very easy, no standards, no curriculum requirements, no testing, basically nothing beyond choosing not to send them to public school and do it yourself thanks to a long ago Illinois Supreme Court case that slapped the State into their place and they have never bothered to test their limits again...

Anyway, as we enter the end of the our first year teaching the 6 year old kindergarten at home, it's been a wonderful experience, I'm a stay at home father and we start school about 4PM this allows me to teach the first half and the wife to teach the 2nd half when she gets home from work, this way we are still both involved... I have little doubt she is excelling well beyond what the public schools as a lot of our curriculum is a mix of 1-3 grade stuff and she has no problems with even the traditional 3rd grade stuff, the traditional kinder garden level stuff is way too easy for her, it's stuff she did 2 years ago in pre-school...

Next year we will focus more on a curriculum with goals, but this year we are focused on about laying down the foundations...

 

[AmyLynn2374]

After seeing how horribly the public schools failed my stepson (in his 20s now) and being wiser now with age, the wife and I refused to repeat that with our younger children, when we went for round two that are currently 2, 4, 6...

We made the decision years ago to home school them, between the first hand experience watching the public schools fail previously, the recent trend in public schools in regards to teaching philosophy that we both agree is bad, the forced political correctness being schooled, and the fact we live in a horrible school district as well as a few other factors reinforced the decision...

We decided that would would allow all the children to go to two years of private/community preschool so that they could meet and socialize with other local children since we live in a rural area not a neighborhood, as well as this getting them in the mindset of school/learning... And we also started to attend some home school programs at the library for socialization...

I should also mention we live in Illinois where home schooling is very easy, no standards, no curriculum requirements, no testing, basically nothing beyond choosing not to send them to public school and do it yourself thanks to a long ago Illinois Supreme Court case that slapped the State into their place and they have never bothered to test their limits again...

Anyway, as we enter the end of the our first year teaching the 6 year old kindergarten at home, it's been a wonderful experience, I'm a stay at home father and we start school about 4PM this allows me to teach the first half and the wife to teach the 2nd half when she gets home from work, this way we are still both involved... I have little doubt she is excelling well beyond what the public schools as a lot of our curriculum is a mix of 1-3 grade stuff and she has no problems with even the traditional 3rd grade stuff, the traditional kinder garden level stuff is way too easy for her, it's stuff she did 2 years ago in pre-school...

Next year we will focus more on a curriculum with goals, but this year we are focused on about laying down the foundations...

I wish someone would slap NYS and put them in their place as well.

 

[MeepBeep]

I wish someone would slap NYS and put them in their place as well.

I sympathize, the wife is a member of several Facebook home schooling pages and the requirements from many states is beyond ridiculous and a hassle...

Knowing the political climate of Illinois well, I'm really surprised they never pushed back, as they are notorious for trying to weasel around just about every court rulings using "too smart by half" antics...

I suspect a lot has to do with places like Chicago (that dictates much of Illinois policy) where they are closing in on a 70% drop out rate, that makes it hard to convince a court that the government has a viable grasp on education policies...

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I sympathize, the wife is a member of several Facebook home schooling pages and the requirements from many states is beyond ridiculous and a hassle...

Knowing the political climate of Illinois well, I'm really surprised they never pushed back, as they are notorious for trying to weasel around just about every court rulings using "too smart by half" antics...

I suspect a lot has to do with places like Chicago (that dictates much of Illinois policy) where they are closing in on a 70% drop out rate, that makes it hard to convince a court that the government has a viable grasp on education policies...

We're one of the most 5 restrictive regulated homeschool states. I keep saying I want to move to Texas...lol Not because I disagree with checks and balances. I think a certain amount is good. But dictating everything from hours to days to when you have to test is what gets me. I don't even mind filling out my quarterlies and end of year reports. it's the telling us what we have to cover, how many hours and when we have to test that really bugs me. Testing being the biggest.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

my wife was honeschooled and two of her sisters homeschooled their kids all the way. It wasn't feasible with us. Both of us had careers, and my military career kept me gone too much. Mary is a Director Of Nursing at a nursing home which will make volunteering there easy. With me being retired it is now an option. We are allowing them to finish elementary and then homeschooling as they finish that. Our youngest is in a language immersion program and just about to finish 2nd grade. Things are just to awful as they enter middle school here. Really glad we found this thread. NC is good with homeschooling but only if you establish it during their enrollment period. We are meeting with the school counselor to ask for a letter of recommendation to make it easier for an exception to policy with our state agency. Our kids can even participate in high school sports as homeschooled children if they choose. NC also also allows for and pays for community college during 11th and 12th grade if students have a B average. It is just tuition they pay for but how awesome is that. Getting set up this late in the year is the only real hurdle

Ya things might be worse as I don't know ur situation about middle school as we have over 900 kids in a building that we have trailers in the parking lot for class rooms had to add more rooms to the building and still so many people inside that the hall ways are so crowded but it's fun just plowing ur way through the people but it sucks for the shorter kids as I am 5.5 ft tall and were a men's 10 and a half shoes so the shorter kids u some times don't see and run right into them not trying to be mean or rude to any one either it just happens sometimes I try to look but I also would like to plow through to get to my classes instinct and those over 900 kids is just 6-7 grades

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

But I tryed homeschooling this year but I think I am going back to public next year it is just hard to focus on my schooling and as much as I don't care for those mean teachers not sayi all of them are mean but some of them are just a plain grump if that's what u want to call it as I had something else in my mind again I am not trying to be rude to anyone and I am so sorry if this offends anyone

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

We're one of the most 5 restrictive regulated homeschool states. I keep saying I want to move to Texas...lol Not because I disagree with checks and balances. I think a certain amount is good. But dictating everything from hours to days to when you have to test is what gets me. I don't even mind filling out my quarterlies and end  of year reports. it's the telling us what we have to cover, how many hours and when we have to test that really bugs me. Testing being the biggest.

I do the k12 schooling through our school district I have to those the pssa test next week and we are done with school here at the middle of next month and then not next year but the year after I have to take the test that if u don't pass it then u don't graduate

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I do the k12 schooling through our school district I have to those the pssa test next week and we are done with school here at the middle of next month and then not next year but the year after I have to take the test that if u don't pass it then u don't graduate

NY doesn't have the k12 yet. Homeschooling is not for everyone. Some kids need the school structure. I am not one of those that believe that everyone can, everyone should and every parent can do. My oldest niece graduated from homeschooling and a year early. Her brother had to be put in public in highschool cause he did not have the work ethic to do the work independantly. A lot depends on the child. I have always said that if the time came that my son wanted to go back to public (not that I ever see that happening), we would try it as much as I HATE the public school system.