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I like pizza.

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While I absolutely love homeschooling my children, I must admit that I am not a HUGE fan of homeschooling.  I believe it is one of many viable options available to parents.  For us homeschooling provides us with the ability to stay even more right on top of how they are doing, without needing to depend on the teacher to keep us updated.  It also allows us to be in controll of the direction their schooling is going.  My 6th grader is very interested in marine biology so we were able to add some marine biology to her science to help her in this love.  We are also part of an academic based co-op so that other mom's can help with areas that I am not that strong in and I can help others with areas in which I am strong.  Needless to say, I am also learning alot and beginning to love things, like history, that I couldn't stand when I was in school.

That being said, I firmly believe that the best indicator for how well a child will do is not what school option they are in but how involved the parents are with their schooling, whether that be homeschool, public school, private school, or whatever option I may have missed.  Each option has pros and cons, each family is different, and each child within each family is different.  Parents are responsible to determine which cons they are willing to work to overcome in order to have the "pros" they want or need for their children, and that will be determined by what fits the needs, desires, and abilities of the family overall and each child's individual needs.

Whenever a friend is considering homeschooling and wants to get advice from me, I try to be very open about what I see as good and what I see as bad about homeschooling.

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Delighted

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I have been homeschooling my two boys. We started out doing it because my son missed the cut off for Kindergarten. Since then it has been a year by year decision. I would agree with others posts. It has its challenges, and it's not for everybody. But it also has its rewards! The people that I know who are homeschooling are pretty normal people who take their kids' education seriously.

Personally, what I enjoy the most is the time spent with my boys. I like the window I have into their strengths and their weaknesses. I like that we get to spend the amount of time we NEED to to explore a new subject or work on a project. My son has had issues with his motor skills and has struggled with reading, but he has been able to work on those areas until he improved. I also like that my boys can finish their work during the day, and that the evenings are not filled up with homework projects I have no control over. I have friends whose kids are up till 10 and 11 on a regular basis, working on homework, and even spending most of the weekend on projects. It's an invasion of family time, in my opinion.

As for the social issues that I've been reading about in your comments, I don't know if other folks are raising their kids in a vacuum, or if people just THINK that others are doing so. My kids are actively involved in our church, YMCA, Little League, hang out at parks, the library, and attend a co-op on a weekly basis. They get plenty of experience dealing with all kinds of people. It's silly to assume that the only place this happens is at a school. Most of the kids that attend our church are actually attending public school, so, hey, it's the same kids they'd be in school with. :)

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I am very thankful for having the opportunity to homeschool our four sons. We home schooled in PA, SC and NY. Each state had varied reporting criteria, but in each state we met wonderful people both in the home schooling community, as well as in the school systems to which we were accountable. Home schooling enabled us to provide an education from a Christian perspective that was affordable and flexible. Our boys had more "free time" to pursue the things that interested them, which ultimately affected their college and career choices. They were each involved in church and community activities. I have definitely encountered folks who stereo-type homeschoolers, and are surprised to find out we're pretty normal. However, I concur with those who say it is not for everyone.

If given the opportunity to do it again, I definitely would.

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Should first point out, that the only exposure I have to home schooling is that which is done for primarily religious purposes. I actually don't know if I know people who are home schooled who weren't strongly connected with their faith. That being said.

If your children are home schooled: They will be taught by sinners.

If your children are educated in a public school: They will be taught by sinners.

If your children are educated in a private school: They will be taught by sinners.

It's all a reconciliation of personal convictions. All have pros, all have cons.

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Well, I have to say I am not a big Fan of homeshooling.  I believe each family and child is different. What I think can happen if a parent isn't on top of things is  their child doesn't interact well with thier peers.  If you HS to keep your kids away from the  "corrupt" school enviroment then your child misses out on learning how to be selective when it comes to friends.  If everyone they interact with have the same basic moral views, how will they learn to stand up to  a different moral view..  Eventually they have to come out into the "real" world with all it's different views and opinions. I know of a child who was HSed  thru elementry school and now is  in middle  school.   This child  has become friends with kids from " the wrong side of the moral track".  This child likes the  "danger  factor" of her new friends. These are kids that my children knew were bad news since in elementry school.   We all have to teach kids to be kind to everyone however they need to also know which kids are bad news.   If I had a child that the school can't teach effectively, ie special needs or a very advanced child, then Hsing makes sense.  I think the key is to get your child involved in "normaL" kid stuff.   HSing only works for children when it is a good fit for the parent.  I have dysletic tendencies, my children would be as dumb as a stick in those areas that I continue to struggle in.   Even with this post I had to ask my son how to spell some words..... he is 12.   My feeling is that if all the moral parents HS, then how can the schools  become better, morally speaking.  My kids  walk out thieir faith every day at school by being mixed into classes with kids with different morals.  I am proud of my kids and hope that their positive morals rub off on the kids struggling to have morals.

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Anonymous/Wounded by Homeschool families!!  

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Anonymous/Wounded by Homeschool families!!  

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I believe in homeschooling. I am an advocate!!! However, I have been a homeschool Mom and also the Mom of kids in public school. I don't think it works for every family or every child. I want to add a comment though that is going to be very controversial. It has been my experience with some homeschool families that they are very critical of others. My daughter was in a class with mainly all homeschool families. When I went in and said hello the whole room got quiet. No one spoke to me. The silence was deafening. Then a lady finally said hello with her face to the ground. My daughter and I left the room. These ladies and their daughters then began to talk about their ministry in the community. I was soo hurt. Another day at the same class they shunned a friend of mine because she was a pubic high school teacher. What they did not know was that she is an amazing Christian. These two examples are not unique. My family has experienced the same thing in local churches. In fact, many churches we visited we noticed a clear cut between homeschoolers and public school families. Fortunately, we are also friends with a homeschool family who reaches out to our family opening their home and their hearts. If we are to exemplify 1Corinthians 13 my hope is this division in our community will end. We do not need to live a christian life without love toward others. Especially!!! other christians.

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I believe that it is true that homeschooling depends on the student and the family. I personally believe that a child need the school environment for proper social development, no matter how good or bad it may be. Another problem that I see with some homeschooling parents is a not so defined role between parent and teacher. Some parents struggle to find the balance between when to be a teacher and when to be the parent. I have seen good and bad come from both homeschooling and public schooling; but as for my children, they will not be homeschooled.

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I think homeschooling definitely has pros and cons as with all types of schooling. As a public school teacher, I can see how students gain a lot of social experience and general common sense in a classroom with their peers, but in today's society the public school system is certainly not ideal. Homeschooling provides flexibility in pacing and curriculum that is simply not possible in most school settings. I guess it comes down to the particular student and family as to what works for them.

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Homeschooled…My current record concerning these individuals: 1 very cool, 1 semi-cool, 1 completely and distributedly awkward. You can judge which one you want to be from the list, but I can say you aren’t the last one. I think it depends on how that student it taught. I personally believe that children should not be homeschool because they miss out on all the opportunities of being socially engaged with other children. I think parents can help educate their children in addition to what they are learning in school through helping them on their assignments or teaching them completely something new. If all home-schooled children came out completely and distributedly awkward, then thats a problem.

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I love the idea of homeschooling. I had the privilege to experience it for two years when I was in elementary school. It did not stick because I would grow anxious and frustrated with my mom instead of trusting her. I was anxious about not learning so I wanted to go back to school. I loved the way I could work ahead if we needed to go on a family trip. I also got a lot of extra math and reading in because of the time I started school and finished prior to my friends getting home! I had trouble connecting in our homeschool group so I struggled with the lack of socialization. I do not think I will homeschool my children, I'll need mommy time but I do respect this teaching!

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Greetings Everyone. Thanks for checking out my wall for education. I recently wrote a blog about homeschooling and thought I would open up this wall as a discussion for it. Feel free to post your thoughts(anonymously or with your name). Thanks for helping me out! If you would like you can check out my blog about homeschooling here(click attachment). Have a great night.

Jamie