Seriously thinking of Homeschooling my Daughter

Status
Not open for further replies.
The area we moved from was the worst, or we had the most exposure to HS. But, what we have seen anywhere is very similar. It runs much like how I was raised, which may be why I have problems. But, all my kids test very highly, so PS does work.
 
even if you decide to homeschool, DO have the meeting with the teacher and principle. You need to know what problem your daughter was having trouble dealing with. Is she shy talking to strangers? Was she over-whelmed by the fast pace? Were the expectations beyond her (expected to know ABCs, write, whatever)?

I would want to know so that I knew if there was something I needed to address. It could be something as simple as she is over-whelmed by the activity or that she finds the teacher intimidating and would do better in another class. It could be that she needs a bit more time before she is ready for a classroom setting.
 
I send my kids to public school because I know I am not qualified to teach them. Sure I could teach them elementary stuff, and yes I took college classes in high school, but that does not mean that I can appropriately teach my kids out of a book or off the internet. There is a lot of stuff from school I don't remember how to do (math in particular) and no amount of looking at a book is going to help that. So, what kind of detriment would I be to my children by keeping them home and not teaching them appropriately??

I also know a lot of homeschooled kids that have no idea how to interact with people outside of the home. Their parents keep them in, teach them the things they want them to know, and don't socialize them with "outsiders" because they think differently than the parents do.
 
I wouldnt let ONE bad teacher ruin schooling for my child. Stand up and DO something about it. GO to the principle first... the super next... etc..
Be proactive about the situation...

Unless you are 100% sure you can teach your child everything that a qualified teacher can.... i wouldnt do it. Your daughter will suffer the repercussions for the rest of her life if you dont know what you are doing.
Just my opinion..
 
Last edited:
I think the first thing you need to find out is the reason for the accidents. If your daughter can not tell you why, then perhaps you need to make an appointment with her pediatrician to rule out a medical reason. Even if you think it is not happening at home, she may be hiding it from you so as not to disappoint you. Are there more undies in the wash than you would expect? My daughter did this on occaision because she was very susceptible to UTIs due to a medical condition. If it is not medical and the fault does indeed lie with a problem at the school, I would imagine the other kids are teasing her about it, and that is just going to make it worse.

That being said, I am a proponent of homeschooling. We started homeschooling our two children last year. Yes, my husband was a teacher with his Masters and most of his experience was in Special Ed. But studies have shown that homeschooled children whose parents are NOT teachers actually score higher on tests such as the SAT and ACT. So do not let the fact that you do not have a teaching degree deter you. But I also believe that the decision to homeschool should be made on the positives - that is you believe homeschooling is the right decision for your family, not your MILs or your neighbors, etc.

Here are some things to consider that tipped the balances for us:

Proverbs 22:6 says "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." (NIV) - I used to think this only applied to the bible and church. But how many 30 and 40 something-year-olds do you know these days that are still trying to figure out what they want to be when they grow up? As one person put it, public school just throws knowledge in a bucket and hopes that your child can sort it all out. They do not have the resourses to discover who your child is meant to be and tailor their education to get them there. As a parent, you have only your child's best interest to worry about and can tailor her education to give her the best possible chance of success. My daughter wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up and we can design her curriculum to make sure she is prepared to be accepted into veterinary school, which is harder to get into than medical school. My son wants to be an art teacher, so his curriculum will be more liberal arts oriented.

But there is also the education they are NOT receiving by being homeschooled. Being "socialized" in a public school setting often meant that my children came home having learned many things that the teachers were not teaching. On the playground or the schoolbus children learn about adult language and inapropriate websites as well as sexting and friends with benefits - I could go on forever. We will cover those kind of subjects with my children at an appropriate time and in an appropriate manner, not leave it to playground gossip and peer pressure.

Homeschooling is an option - you just have to decide if it is an option for your family. Whatever your decision, make it based on your love for your child. Search your heart, the answer is there.
 
Before I started homeschooling my 3 youngest kids, I tried everything to get the school to work with me and my children to get them the education I know they need, to grow up to be productive members of society. DS14 was in gifted programs that were, by regulation, supposed to be integrated with his regular classes; both teachers refused to coordinate the classwork so that he was learning at his accelerated pace, the same things his regular classmates were studying. DD would come home from@school with tons of math work every day, and we would work at it until she was in tears....I finally figured out how to teach her the math so she could understand, and got angry letters from the teacher that DD could not do the work 'the right way'. So I tried to get her a tutor and was told that even though she was barely passing, she didn't have enough difficulty to qualify for one. DS10's first month in kindergarten got me FIFTEEN notes from the teacher about how he would not sit still and do nothing once he finished his classwork.

And those are just the non-religion based reasons I am my children's teacher.

It isn't an option for everyone, but fortunately it was for me, and my children are, I think, better educated because they learn outside the institutional system.

Feel free to pm me if you'd like to correspond privately. Meanwhile I will keep you and your family in my prayers.
 
What an awful situation! I am so sorry your family is going through it. Me personally, I would pull her out. It's not worth the potential long term effects - all it took was one bad teacher in elementary school to forever ruin my love of learning. I hated school - absolutely hated it. I was bullied by other kids and even the teacher! It was awful... and I am 27 so I know it's changed even more!

My oldest is 4 and we have already broken the ice with family that we are planning to HS. It's tough not to have a support system... no one in his family agrees with us, and people at church are openly against it (before we mentioned that's what we planned to do, just came up in general conversation). People always comment on the negatives of homeschooling b/c of what they see out in public, but don't realize that oftentimes the good slips by them b/c the kids blend in so well. Isn't there a phrase "the squeaky wheel gets the oil" or something along those lines?

My husband had some hesitations with HSing, mainly the whole socialization aspect of it but after seeing some of the options available in our area he's more excited than I am!! It will be one of the hardest jobs you love to do. There is no sugar coating it that it's tough... it really is, but I think the long term benefits are so worth it. I could go on about the cons of PS, but I won't go there. People don't think twice about bashing HSing and often times get support since it is the minority... but don't even think about touching PS. Don't bury your head in the sand about anything that is going on with your daughter (not that you are... obviously you're trying to get to the bottom of it). There is something obviously wrong, and even if it is something "small" to others, obviously it's huge to her! You can't take these years back... cherish them.

Oh, and often times people talk about sheltering... and I am OK with it now! Think of your child as a plant seedling. You wouldn't throw it out in the middle of winter and expect it to thrive, or even survive. You would keep it indoors, sheltering it from the weather, nurturing it until it was strong enough to go out on its own. Also, I am not sure your religious beliefs, but God is the ultimate shelter so it must not be too bad of a thing
wink.png


Oh, and I know in NC you don't have to file paper work until age 7 so you might have something similar. Just because you HS now doesn't mean you have to all 18 years KWIM? Tell family you are taking it year by year and are open to other options if it doesn't work out, it might get them off your back a little bit. I am trying so hard to just take it in stride and not get defensive. It's hard, but sometimes it's worth it just to move on to another subject and not even discuss it.
 
Last edited:
I'm sure you already know this but... you don't have to know everything a certified teacher does just to homeschool your own child (in fact most private schools have very few teachers who are actually certified but no one seems to mind that). There are plenty of resources that can help you if you do decide to homeschool. There isn't a single teacher anywhere who knows everything a child will need to know from kinder through high school so a parent shouldn't feel they need to know everything either. Books, online classes, in-person classes, lessons on cd or dvd; there are endless ways to help a child get the education they need.

I wonder where all these homeschool kids are that can't manage outside their own home. I have met literally hundreds of homeschooled kids and I can count on one hand the number who seemed lacking in normal social skills. I know there are kids out there like that but I have to wonder how much better off they would really be in public school. A painfully shy or socially awkward homeschooled child would probably still be painfully shy and socially awkward even if they were sent to public school. I'm certain there are rare exceptions, but they would be just that... rare.
 
Last edited:
Oh, and I definitely agree with those who have mentioned you don't need to know everything to teach your child. I don't remember much of anything from HS (I went through 2 levels of calc and it all looks like greek to me now!) and am looking forward to relearning it with my son. If we get to a point where I am stuck, there are tutors, books, videos, co-ops or any number of things to get the information we need. Besides, that's a LONG way off. Kindergarten shouldn't be a problem - the biggest hurdle is finding the way your daughter learns best and working with it. There are SO many curriculums out there I am sure you can find one to fit both of your needs! We are starting with Sonlight and Before Five in a Row/Five in a Row because my kids LOVE to read. Oh, and All About Reading Pre-1 for early reading skills - DS LOVES Ziggy the Zebra. There are other programs that do more with worksheets and things. I tried them with DS and some were too easy so he got bored with them (and breezed right on through 5 pages in less than a minute) while others were just overwhelming for him. Too much information on one sheet of paper. Give him a maze any day so we'll just let him have fun with those for a while
wink.png
 
Last edited:
It takes a village to raise a child. You can find home-schoolers on the Internet as well as locally that will pick up where you cannot carry the teaching load.

We are homeschooling my son (5). I started teaching him early-on though. He knows his ABC's and a few things like that.

I am starting him on sing spell read write and Singapore math. In areas I have trouble with, higher (math), hubby will teach him. Socializing is simple, just have play dates and take your child to places people are. Church is good. Just like people used to do. You do not need a schoolroom to have a social kid.
roll.png


I was home-schooled for a big portion of my life, I scored college grade in many subjects -- until I was placed in public school. I went from college test scores in gradeschool, to C's, D's and F's. I had a teacher stand me up in class and call me stupid in front of all the other students. Such a great memory that is.
smile.png
I had boys in grade-school trying to get me to have sex in the restrooms, saw drugs and all sorts of other wonderful things! Mind you, this was not just one public school I saw this in.

There are talks of taking Sing, Spell, Read, Write off the market for home-schoolers, so if you want that program, you may want to go ahead and buy it ASAP.

You can just gather your own stuff and teach with that, for free. You don't have to purchase curriculum, ESPECIALLY at this young an age.

I am quite social too.
wink.png


Good luck and God bless on your home-schooling endeavors!!!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom