Still years to decide.
Well Jon and I have started discussing more seriously the idea of homeschooling our girls. I know they are only 2 and 3, but the school years are approaching fast. We started looking at different preschools and their curriculum and decided that I will just homeschool Molly for preschool - I think I can do just as good of a job as anyone else (I mean I was a preschool teacher for a while and all...). Now we are discussing what we are going to do from there.....
We are not overly thrilled with the classroom sizes and the horror stories you hear about from kids in public school. Does this mean I don't think you can get a good education at a public school - no - not at all - my neice and nephew both go to public school (along with many others) and they are extremely bright and well behaved children. One of the biggest reasons we are looking more seriously at homeschool is because of the lack of innocense the kids of today seem to have. I have a neighbor who is 12 years old and in 6th grade - she talks about how all her friends are already kissing their "boyfriends" and that some kids in her school have already gone quite a bit further and that even some have already had sex. I do NOT want my precious daughters faced with such outrageously adult issues. It sickens me to think that children are growing up so fast and having to deal with things way out of their grasp.
Our number one reason however is what is being taught as "fact" in public school. I do not want my children growing up "knowing" evolution to be "fact" and being told that they are NOT allowed to pray, talk about God or any of the other nonsense that is continually being forced down our children's minds. I don't want to brain wash my children into believing everything I believe but I strongly feel that they should be raised to atleast know Jesus Christ as who we believe Him to be and be surrounded by other people who cherish our beliefs.
This is a very touchy subject - many people have their own opinion on the matter - some HATE the idea of homeschooling, others LOVE it. I personally think it's up to each individual parent and child to decide this. I would love to hear your opinion, but please don't be offended if I don't agree with it. You might not agree with mine either.... we can all still be friends! :)
9 comments:
Pros: You can teach them whatever you want to. No 7:00am alarm clock. School in your jammies. No distracting ADHD kids in the class. A teacher who genuinely loves them. Move at their pace, be it slower or faster.
Cons: Homeschool kids can be serious dorks. You don't get any free time from them. They don't get any free time from you. You would have to be very disciplined.
As far as the innocence goes, I am with you. It sucks to see my babies having to hear about things that are way too mature for them. I do believe that they follow the examples of their parents though. If you have a close enough relationship with your children, they will come to you with questions, rather than trust their peers alone. Speaking of peers though, it's important for kids to have them. And as we were talking about the other day, it's important for kids to be in situations where they have to make decisions without the help of their parents. Anyway, I could go on and on...I'm not opposed to it, if it's done right. I'm waaaaaaaaay too lazy fo it myself. And selfish. If they didn't leave the house for school, I would.
I could just see it Sarah - you gone for 8 hours while they were at home "teaching" themselves....
To be honest, I am completely amazed that a child of my loins WANTS to home school!
But if there ever was a mom ready and prepared to do it, you are Em. You will be fabulous!
But I am so much more like Sarah. I loved the relative quiet, (still do) when the kidlings went off to school, but then I was a moron and as soon as you three were in school, I had Hopper.
You know I adore each and every one of my beebs and grandbeebs, but I was not made for homeschooling, no way, no how...
oh thanks mom. make me feel like the kid you didnt want. : )
em- at first i was kinda taken back by it. i just dont want your kids to feel scared to go to school when it comes time for them to face the world. (ie college/highschool) it will be a very big step for them and i dont see how they wouldnt be scared for that. but i do have to admit, the public schools these days are tough. they are very real and harsh. but its life. you just will have to decide whats more important. them to have to face the world then not knowing the difference or later knowing how messed up it is... both are scary... but ill support whatever decision you make. and you would make an amazing teacher for your children!!
i hope i will be able to make my classroom more comforting when i become a teacher. i hate that people are having to resort to homeschooling because of the poor schooling we are being faced with. its really sad...
I am very much in support of homeschooling! I homeschool my daughter(s) and believe all moms can do it if they really put their mind to it. Sure, it takes discipline, it takes being around your kids all the time, it takes guts. But don't you think God would give you everything you need to teach your kids? Who said you'd have to do it alone?
The theory that homeschooled kids aren't ready for life come highschool/college is bologna. We don't have to shelter our children. Introducing them to the reality of the harsh world is part of homeschooling ... and moms can teach their kids how to face trials and troubles and point to what the scriptures say how to handle it. Creating a bond with your kids early on will mean they will trust you and your guidance and will be able to face peer pressure or sticky situations with a clear head that hasn't been muddled by their environment.
And who wants gradeschool kids surrounded by only gradeschool kids anyway? That's selective socialization in my opinion. Homeschooled kids get to interact with babies, their own aged kids, teenagers, adults, men, women ... everyone! Now THAT'S socialization.
Character is developed in these early years. Who better to mold your daughters' character than the very one person God gave to them as their protector/ instructor/ molder/ trainer/ teacher ... Mother.
No matter what, if you and Jon have prayed about this and have asked God to lead you in the right direction, and you hear His Voice leading you to Homeschool, then your obedience alone will set you on the right path for successful homeschooling. Your daughters are too important to do anything other than what God wants you to do with them. The ramifications could be deadly. Their future, their values, their spiritual foundation rests in your hands.
"Why send your little one off to school to fall in love with her teacher, and bond with her as she opens the way to all the things her heart is yearning to learn?"
You can do it, Em! :)
No disrespect to the above response, but no, not every mom should do it. I COULD if I HAD to, but wouldn't encourage a mom like myself to homeschool their kids. I would be a nutso teacher, no part of me was meant to teach. I love my children more than anything on this planet, but I do not think they would be better off with me in the education department. I keep in close contact with their teachers and have alot of confidence in their abilities to teach my kids. If I didn't, I would have them moved to another class.
Em - Eric and I have thought about this many times over for a number of reasons. The biggest is that Ethan really needs one-on-one more than the next child. This hasn't been mentioned to many people yet, but Ethan was diagnosed with PDD-NOS in April of this year. It is a high-functioning form of autism that includes delays in speech, repititious behaviors and low social interactions. With changes in diet, speech therapy and more social interaction it can be reversed and controlled. We have already changed his diet to take out wheat gluten and dairy (casin) and that has helped immensly with his attention span and focus. He is bringing home work from school that blows my mind! He is doing so well after the changes in diet. His speech is getting better and better the longer he is in a school setting and he will be starting speech therapy when school starts. He will be mainstreamed in school (meaning he will be in the normal classes) but will be pulled for speech. So, as you can see, along with battling the normal things that public school brings, we are battling with the fact that he will need more time than most. We are starting him in public school in August which we have heard has the best speech teacher in the district. If this school doesn't meet our standards, we may very well think about homeschooling. But on the negative side, he needs the social interaction and professional time with speech therapists and developmental counselors so it's a pretty tough decision.
All in all, what you and Jon decide is best for your children is what you need to do. We all have our own opinions and a lot of this is based on our own children and a little bit of selfishness of course. :)
So, now you know a bit of my opinion and a lot more about my little guy! :)
I should mention that PDD-NOS stands for Pervasive Development Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified. This diagnosis is given to children who fall in the middle. Meaning they have traits of autism but many more traits of a child with NO autism. Eric and I fully believe we can reverse it as does his developmental pediatrician so that is what we are doing! :) Here's one website of many if you are interested in learning more about PDD-NOS:
http://www.autismspeaks.org/navigating/pdd_nos.php
well as someone who was once home schooled... I think it's a good idea! the one issue that I want to bring up though is lack of friends. I would strongly sugest that if you do decide to home school the girls that you look into a group that has other home schooled kids meet and have class together. When we home schooled in Irvine we had a workshop that offered many oportunites that could not be provided in a home setting...group work, art class, science labs and other such activites. We met once a week and it was basically public school for the day but at the same time the kids would only be around children who are not in public school. It's definetly a challenge and if you decide you're up for it I'm sure that my mom would love to talk to you more about it.
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