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Post by **Angie** on Sept 2, 2016 4:25:46 GMT
So, do you have to have any sort of education to home school, or does that not matter? I'm being serious here, not snarky at all. For example, I was not great in Chemistry, so I would not feel comfortable teaching it..or physics, etc. How does that work? Also, how does the transition to the next level of school work. If a kid can't be in a larger classroom setting and doesn't do well with structure, how do they do in college? Or at work after that. Again, I'm truly curious as I've always wondered. Also, a child that may not do well in a classroom often does well in real life. I know many homeschoolers who do much better being around people of all ages, as opposed to being stuck in a classroom with everyone their own age. They learn how to adapt in their own time and in their own way. One thing I really appreciated about homeschooling our DDs was that they were able to talk to people of all ages, and they willingly carried on conversations with people from different backgrounds. They were able to avoid a lot of drama that often comes with high school and young college students, because they could see that an "issue" wasn't really a big deal/wasn't worth getting hurt feelings over/etc. I insisted that ds find a second "outside" way to interact with people. Sure, we're doing field trips and the occasional college-sponsored event along with PopShop, but I wanted him to do a community service type of activity. He's decided he either wants to volunteer at a local animal shelter or with local veteran organizations. I'm encouraging the veteran choice because I'm already just one husband away from being the "cat lady"....
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theshyone
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,405
Jun 26, 2014 12:50:12 GMT
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Post by theshyone on Sept 2, 2016 6:12:51 GMT
My daughter is doing her school at home through an online school (Canadian). It's been awesome for us, meeting our required flexible needs due to medical reasons. She started in 8th and is currently in 11th. Home schooling with me as a teacher was not a possibility. I highly recommend it if available. She follows the exact curriculums from normal schools, except it's a Catholic school and she must take religion. Which is fine. She writes exactly the same exams as kids in public schools write for finals. Same credits.
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mlana
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,523
Jun 27, 2014 19:58:15 GMT
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Post by mlana on Sept 2, 2016 7:19:47 GMT
I started homeschooling my DS just after he started 6 th grade, but I should have started much sooner. Somewhere online I found a list of what a student should learn in each grade and I used it as a guide. When I started homeschooling my DD as well, we joined a local co-op to help with socialization as well as subjects I preferred they learn from someone else.
We knew my DD might not want to be homeschooled thru high school, so we found out while she was in middle school grades what we would have to do to make sure she could go to public school if she so chose. She did K-12 academy for 9 and 10th grades, then actually attended a brick and mortar school for 11 and 12 th grades. Because she had done online public school, she did not have to do any testing for each grade; her online grades were completely accepted.
My kids were very different in their learning styles. DS had to be watched over and guided thru his school work because he would do as little as possible unless the subject interested him. History he loved, creative writing not so much. He chose to begin interning with DH as soon as he could and he went thru several certifications before moving away and going to work in the IT department of a court.
With DD, I could introduce her to a subject and then get out of her way and she would devour it. Math was the only exception to this as she hated math. She got thru it, but she will never love it the way she does writing or history. She was always college bound and she got into her first choice with no problem. She is a senior this year and will graduate in May with 2 degrees and a minor in Mandarin. She spent her junior year studying in China.
During the time we were involved with the co-op, a number of parents took their kids out of ps during middle school and then re-enrolled them for high school. The reasoning behind this (please don't yell at me, MS teachers, I didn't do this!) was that a great deal of middle school was repetition and waiting on their brains to grow enough to understand the higher concepts that are taught in high school. Some of these parents used this time to not only work on school, but to also expose their kids to travel, home ec, and languages. Of the 4 families I can think of who did this, only 1 didn't return their kids to ps for high school. The ones who did return did very well and most are done with college already.
Marcy
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Post by birukitty on Sept 2, 2016 16:54:58 GMT
I homeschooled my DS from grades 6-12 but I wish I'd started much earlier. He's 26 now so that was years ago. He has ADHD and was going to a private school before that. At the end of 5th grade the school decided to kick out all of their ADHD/ADD students so they wouldn't have to deal with any extra work that comes from accommodating those students. It was a blessing in disguise. DS had hated school with a passion for the past 2 years. I took a look at homeschooling, did a ton of reading, and decided to give it a try. We ended up with a curriculum from www.oakmeadow.com That first year I signed him up with a teacher who we'd mail the lessons too, and she'd go over them and make little comments in the margins and mail them back to us-nowadays I'm sure everything would be online. DS really blossomed with homeschooling. I tailored the lessons to his style of learning which was hands on as much as possible. We are lucky to live where we do-Washington DC is 45 minutes away-so we took a ton of field trips! We have history and the Chesapeake right in our home town. One thing I added was a vocabulary course called "Wordly Wise" that you can buy online. It's inexpensive and all you need are the workbooks for the students. His former school used these books and I really liked them. We used them all through grade 12. DS's vocabulary is excellent, and I credit this course. I supplemented with courses and programs wherever I could find them, and whatever looked interesting. One really neat adventure I found was a program called "Ocean Classroom". They run a "Seafaring Camp" for teens 13-16 where they go out to sea for a week aboard a replica late 19th century sailing fishing schooner that is 125 feet long and carries 22 students and a crew of 9. It's a learning adventure where they observe whales, collect plankton, perform oceanography experiments, visit historical sites and museums, and share sea songs and stories. They also stand watch and learn how to sail the ship. This is located in Boston. Oh that's so sad. I just did a Google check and it looks like they ran into financial troubles. They were a non-profit and it sounds like they were forced to close in late 2015. Anyway, when it came to science and math (courses I didn't remember very well) I hired a tutor. With DS having ADHD one on one teaching in a calm environment was best for him so I thought this would be the best solution. We continued with the core of the curriculum being with Oak Meadow. I really loved that curriculum and recommend it to others who are searching for one. There are so many different curriculums out there. I think it's best to look at as many as possible and find one that fits your student. DS graduated high school (in MD you sign up under an "umbrella homeschool and they send the diploma"-basically he finished the curriculum. We'd already decided he would do his first 2 years of college at our local community college-for the cost savings and because he had ADHD. OP I was just like you. I was terrified I'd ruined his life by homeschooling him and that he'd fail miserably at college and that it'd be all my fault. But you know what? He didn't. He soared! He finished his 2 years with almost a perfect 4.0 and transferred to the college of his choice (a University that offered a film degree) where he refused any kind of accommodation for ADHD students and still graduated with a 3.8 average. Most freshmen these days have to take a remedial English course to learn how to write (and spell). DS didn't (and most homeschooled students don't. I think the quality of our public education these days is lacking. I know there are excellent public schools out there, but they are few and far between sadly. I hope that changes in the future. It should be a priority in this country. Hopefully one day it will be. In the meantime I advocate homeschooling-but it isn't for everyone. You have to be committed to it. It sounds to me like you've done an excellent job so far.
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Post by birukitty on Sept 2, 2016 17:10:19 GMT
PS. I just went to the Oak Meadow website OP and now they are offering a high school diploma through their curriculum. If this curriculum works for you that might be an option.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,130
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Sept 2, 2016 18:39:59 GMT
We homeschooled through high school.
We designed our own curriculum mostly. I researched home study schools, but the one we wanted to use only did home study for kids too sick to go to public school. I looked up what books they used, ordered both student and teacher editions, and just went with that. I was a legally registered home schooler, so I got a letter from the school certifying that I was, which meant I could order books, including teacher editions, directly from the publishers.
We also did some cooperative science and history classes with other home school families that we knew. The parents took turns teaching. I taught American and World history to the younger kids, another mother taught history to the older ones, and two other parents did the science classes. That worked well, too.
We chose to have our kids take standardized testing each year. They usually tested pretty high. That not only kept the school system from giving us grief, but I also knew we were doing okay teaching at home. They took the GED to graduate.
It was really worth home schooling for our family. They ended up kind, well adjusted, responsible adults who get along well with everyone, no matter their age group. (Too many public school kids can't relate to anyone other than their peers.) I've seen a few home schooled kids do the younger grades, but then go to public school for high school, and the families usually regretted it.
Home schooling doesn't work for everyone, just as public school doesn't. There is no one size fits all in education. I firmly believe that most parents are far more concerned about their children's welfare and education than even the best public school teachers. I knew my kids needed to be homeschooled. It was not necessarily the same reason for each child. It was a good choice for us, and both DH and I are very glad we home schooled all the way through high school. I hope it goes well for you.
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