Who is planning to homeschool for fall 2008?

[Pensive]

I'm just curious how many of us will be homeschooling in the upcoming school year. How many kids and what ages?

I'll be homeschooling Ben for second grade. Tommy is not legally of age yet, but based on his competitive and perfectionistic personality :help:, I will be doing some homeschooling with him because he demands it.

I'm actually having a really hard time with the Tommy issue but it should be another post, I guess. If I give Ben any 1:1 attention, Tommy is right there, trying to do the same thing and getting very upset with himself for not being able to do it. When I helped Ben read a page from a Magic Treehouse book the other day, Tommy started loudly complaining that he wanted to read Magic Treehouse too and that he wasn't very good at reading (he reads basic books) and so on and so on. I feel like he takes a lot of my attention because then I have to spend a lot of time reassuring him that he actually is smart (he says he's not) and so on. Oops, I didn't mean that to spill over.

Anyway, we're looking at moving away from the unschooling towards very loose eclectic...just a bit of structure that Ben's been asking for. But the Tommy variable is a bit stressful.

Anyone else?

[indigo]

C (age 10) is homeschooling in the fall.

[Hawthorne]

We'll be homeschooling all three this next school year. Should be interesting, but I will be glad to not have my attentions divided amongst various schooling obligations.

Is there any way that you can seperate your kids while they school?

[gfrach]

We'll still be homeschooling one way or the other. As C gets older we're doing more schooly stuff, but still definitely unschooling.

[Kimd]

We are. Patrick will officially be in 1st grade in the fall. There was some confusion on his part - he seemed to think 1st grade started the same day he turned 6. Think he's got it straightened out now. Joseph mostly just hangs out with us, though he does have a notebook he "writes" in whenever Patrick takes out his. And, of course, he has to be involved in anything dealing with craft supplies or music.

[threecubs]

We are planning on it, but I have to admit I have been really soul-searching the last few months about what to do next year. Bethany asks almost constantly to go to school...and it's wearing me down. Kaleb would love to go to school, but he doesn't bug me about it. I don't know if I should give them what they want, or do what I want. :(

[Anne]

We are, in a manner of speaking.

Madeleine will be a second grader. We are actually enrolled in a local school district and use its homeschool resource center. That means we have some hoops to jump through several times a year, but it gives us access to some wonderful things that are difficult to do at home (musical theater, martial arts, music lessons, art stuff, computer stuff, Lego lab, and even some more traditional things). Madeleine loves it. We tend to do a lot of the "basics" at home and more of the fun things at school.

Sophie will be a kindergartener. I'm keeping her in the Montessori preschool she's been attending (the same one Madeleine went to for two years). She'll actually be there four mornings per week (it's been three this year). She adores it there and I love that the preschool is owned by one good friend and that another very good friend teaches there.

[webbeccjo]

we are still unschooling!
Its amazing to me how different the local homeschooling scene is now, compared to what it was like way back when we began this journey!

[aleutsi]

I'm just curious how many of us will be homeschooling in the upcoming school year. How many kids and what ages?

I'll be homeschooling Ben for second grade. Tommy is not legally of age yet, but based on his competitive and perfectionistic personality :help:, I will be doing some homeschooling with him because he demands it.

I'm actually having a really hard time with the Tommy issue but it should be another post, I guess. If I give Ben any 1:1 attention, Tommy is right there, trying to do the same thing and getting very upset with himself for not being able to do it. When I helped Ben read a page from a Magic Treehouse book the other day, Tommy started loudly complaining that he wanted to read Magic Treehouse too and that he wasn't very good at reading (he reads basic books) and so on and so on. I feel like he takes a lot of my attention because then I have to spend a lot of time reassuring him that he actually is smart (he says he's not) and so on. Oops, I didn't mean that to spill over.

Anyway, we're looking at moving away from the unschooling towards very loose eclectic...just a bit of structure that Ben's been asking for. But the Tommy variable is a bit stressful.

Anyone else?

Yes. Next year will be my last year of homeschooling DD - She'll be graduating!! :yay:

We'll also be homeschooling 15yo DS and 9yo DD.

Still a mix of unschooling and relaxed homeschooling and co-op classes.

[gfrach]

Hugs, Toni! That's so hard. C talked a bit about wanting to go to school (about 3 years ago) and I talked to him about what he thought school would be like. He thought they'd have cool toys. LOL!

So, you probably have, but I'd talk to them about their expectations and what they think will be different about school vs homeschooling. I think a lot of homeschooled kids want to go to school at various points in their lives. IIRC, Kaleb is about C's age, and from what I've heard most kids of that age who go to school will end up coming back home (I'd say about 80% or so). When homeschooled kids go to high school, from what I've seen it's about 50/50 whether they stick to it or not.

It's a tough call--largely about what you think is best for them. Maybe there's some compromise you can come to with them. I'm sorry you have to deal with this.

[Cat]

We are - Lydia is 10 and Jonathan is 5.

-Cat

[victoria]

Probably us. D is 8 and will be a 3rd grader and J will be 4 so we'll just keep buying a few more of those cute Kumon books for him and doing other fun stuff. Our hs group is doing a play in the fall this year which should be interesting and fun. Both boys will be in it and I'll probably help with costumes.

I say probably b/c we are trying to resolve issues with D behaviorally and I'm having to change my ideas/plans/what we do for schoolwork. Dh is worried about me being able to handle it along with the pregnancy/new baby. D is adamantly opposed to school though and I think if we can solve the behavior issues with allergy testing and treatment, modification of our diets and me just working on being patient with him and helping him learn to deal with his big feelings then it will be ok.

I have become more relaxed with what I am requiring from him and am considering possibly something like Oak Meadow or Enki. I am not finding a 3rd grade curriculum on the Enki site though so may just buy their sensory integration stuff for an earlier grade and use that with him. I also need to integrate a lot more art into our schoolwork, that's what he really wants but I'm clueless as to where to begin unless I do buy one of those boxed curricula. (Suggestions about art are welcomed, I may start a new thread on that too :).)

Friends in my hs group are largely focused on Well Trained Mind and I've just sort of done that (loosely) just because for 3 years but we're going away from that and will be going more eclectic/relaxed/unschoolish possibly for a while.

[bannanabette]

We'll still be homeschooling :) C is now 10, L is 7.5 and N is 5.

[Brenda]

I'm just curious how many of us will be homeschooling in the upcoming school year. How many kids and what ages?

I'll be homeschooling Ben for second grade. Tommy is not legally of age yet, but based on his competitive and perfectionistic personality :help:, I will be doing some homeschooling with him because he demands it.

I'm actually having a really hard time with the Tommy issue but it should be another post, I guess. If I give Ben any 1:1 attention, Tommy is right there, trying to do the same thing and getting very upset with himself for not being able to do it. When I helped Ben read a page from a Magic Treehouse book the other day, Tommy started loudly complaining that he wanted to read Magic Treehouse too and that he wasn't very good at reading (he reads basic books) and so on and so on. I feel like he takes a lot of my attention because then I have to spend a lot of time reassuring him that he actually is smart (he says he's not) and so on. Oops, I didn't mean that to spill over.

Anyway, we're looking at moving away from the unschooling towards very loose eclectic...just a bit of structure that Ben's been asking for. But the Tommy variable is a bit stressful.

Anyone else?

We are. We do a relaxed hodgepodge curriculum, a little to keep us on track.

Abigail is on track with 5th grade stuff. Isabella is doing mostly third; she's fantastic in math, but needs to keep working on her reading skills. I started some Kindy things with Vincent last year as he is five, but he had just barely turned five in Sept. We'll keep on at that level for him.

[Tracy]

Me! Miya (10yrs old), Madison(13 yrs old) and possibly Joshua (5/Kindy)(nt)

[Pensive]

It's kind of weird for us because we've rarely done what would be considered school so I guess I've never set a precedent. We did a chemistry curric a few years ago and since Tommy was very little then, I was able to put TV on for him and sneak away with Ben for about 20 minutes.

Now that he's older and he considers Ben to be his very best friend in the whole world (i.e. he sticks to him like glue), I've had to buy T workbooks and stuff, anything that looks like what Ben is doing. When we discovered that he could read a bit, we did some "Explode the Code" but he wants my attention every other second. So, it seems like whenever I try to spend a moment with Ben, he's saying he wants help. He refuses to put the workbook down but he wants constant help. I'm hoping that some of this will diminish as he gets closer to 5. 4 is a needy age anyway.

In the past, unschooling has been perfect because it suited their personalities and Ben would initiate little projects and take Tommy along with him, basically. Now, Ben's asking for structure and "real math like they do in school". I don't think it would take much of that each week to satisfy him. But I'm thinking that maybe I just need to be creative with my time and take advantage of the time when dh is home. Actually, now that we're in the new house and they have their own rooms for the first time, I could probably do the TV trick again for 20 minute periods a day.

I've bought "The Optimistic Child" and I need to make time to read it. T is SO perfectionistic and hard on himself. We're really not a competitive family at all so we were kind of blindsided by his self-esteem issues. I mean, Ben is about to turn 7. There's a big difference between 7 and barely 4 1/2. I want to make Ben feel good about reading the Magic Treehouse stuff because Ben is convinced that he can't really read. But when I high-five Ben and tell him that he reads well or something to make him feel good, Tommy starts up. He's very hard on himself and he was so downcast over not being able to read that stupid book. I can't convince him that he's not a 7 year old. I think that's how he sees himself, as Ben's twin, instead of being 2.5 years younger.

Sorry to go on so much. I think I need to be more creative with my time.

[Ali]

Quinten 2nd grade. Unless something drastic happens, it will be our last year.

[Pensive]

Wow! I didn't realize there were so many of us! How cool!

[Ali]

I don't know if I should give them what they want, or do what I want. :(

{{{Toni}}} I know how difficult that decision is. Remember when I was trying to decide? Well, we are finishing our second year and nothing horrible has happened to her :rofl: Other the PITA school schedule, and the homework things have gone very smooth.

It came down to me letting go of my need to be "right". There is more than one "right" way for a child to learn. My right way wasn't jiving with dh's and changes were made. Life happens and our ideals are not always best for our kids. (I don't know your situation first hand, I am only speaking of *me* and my decision. Not your ideals being bad for your kids!)

:grouphug:

[Hawthorne]

It's kind of weird for us because we've rarely done what would be considered school so I guess I've never set a precedent. We did a chemistry curric a few years ago and since Tommy was very little then, I was able to put TV on for him and sneak away with Ben for about 20 minutes.

Now that he's older and he considers Ben to be his very best friend in the whole world (i.e. he sticks to him like glue), I've had to buy T workbooks and stuff, anything that looks like what Ben is doing. When we discovered that he could read a bit, we did some "Explode the Code" but he wants my attention every other second. So, it seems like whenever I try to spend a moment with Ben, he's saying he wants help. He refuses to put the workbook down but he wants constant help. I'm hoping that some of this will diminish as he gets closer to 5. 4 is a needy age anyway.

In the past, unschooling has been perfect because it suited their personalities and Ben would initiate little projects and take Tommy along with him, basically. Now, Ben's asking for structure and "real math like they do in school". I don't think it would take much of that each week to satisfy him. But I'm thinking that maybe I just need to be creative with my time and take advantage of the time when dh is home. Actually, now that we're in the new house and they have their own rooms for the first time, I could probably do the TV trick again for 20 minute periods a day.

I've bought "The Optimistic Child" and I need to make time to read it. T is SO perfectionistic and hard on himself. We're really not a competitive family at all so we were kind of blindsided by his self-esteem issues. I mean, Ben is about to turn 7. There's a big difference between 7 and barely 4 1/2. I want to make Ben feel good about reading the Magic Treehouse stuff because Ben is convinced that he can't really read. But when I high-five Ben and tell him that he reads well or something to make him feel good, Tommy starts up. He's very hard on himself and he was so downcast over not being able to read that stupid book. I can't convince him that he's not a 7 year old. I think that's how he sees himself, as Ben's twin, instead of being 2.5 years younger.

Sorry to go on so much. I think I need to be more creative with my time.

I completely understand where you're coming from as Solomon is a lot like this. He's incredibly intelligent and has been able to do the math work that Lily is doing, but is convinced he can't read because he is afraid to be wrong (and there's a lot of guesswork when you're first learning to read). Thankfully he hasn't been competitive with Lily so much, but I know that it can be a challenge to work with a perfectionist.
The tv trick was exactly what I was thinking I would do in this situation. It could even be an educational dvd if Tommy would sit through it.

[Bonny]

only my 13yo ds will be homeschooling next year (nt)

[alottatea]

Maya will be registered 3rd grade and Sagan registered 1st (even though he'll be in "2nd grade" Sunday School). Anya will only be 4.5, so I've got a few more years before I have to notify the school district about her.

We're unschoolers that fall pretty close to the "radical" end of the spectrum, though. So aside from the kids occasionally being enamored with the idea of workbooks, there's very little formal schooling that goes on. They have been asking for a bit of Waldorf schoolishness in our days, so I think I'll try to incorporate more of that. In the fall, they'll all be going to the once a week Waldorf-inspired homeschoolers class where I'll be teaching the first grade level, and they seem to enjoy that a lot.

It's been a bit of an adjustment since I started a second part time job last month, but I think everything is going to work out.

[nahkoe]

Maya will be registered 3rd grade and Sagan registered 1st (even though he'll be in "2nd grade" Sunday School). Anya will only be 4.5, so I've got a few more years before I have to notify the school district about her.

We're unschoolers that fall pretty close to the "radical" end of the spectrum, though. So aside from the kids occasionally being enamored with the idea of workbooks, there's very little formal schooling that goes on. They have been asking for a bit of Waldorf schoolishness in our days, so I think I'll try to incorporate more of that. In the fall, they'll all be going to the once a week Waldorf-inspired homeschoolers class where I'll be teaching the first grade level, and they seem to enjoy that a lot.

It's been a bit of an adjustment since I started a second part time job last month, but I think everything is going to work out.

Because I *want* to be posting here...lol

What do you do with the kids while you're working? Do you just pay childcare or do you have friends/family watch them?

[macaquinha]

I'm just curious how many of us will be homeschooling in the upcoming school year. How many kids and what ages?

(Sneaking in...)


Decisions have not yet been made, but it's possible that Boy will be homeschooled in the fall. He would be a 4th-grader next year. His plan is to do nothing but sit around in his pajamas and read all day, and I don't really have a problem with that. :P

Girl says, "I am not going to homeschool. I like school and I want to be with my friends!" Sounds like a plan to me...

[gfrach]

But when I high-five Ben and tell him that he reads well or something to make him feel good, Tommy starts up. He's very hard on himself and he was so downcast over not being able to read that stupid book. I can't convince him that he's not a 7 year old. I think that's how he sees himself, as Ben's twin, instead of being 2.5 years younger.

Wow, that must be very hard! Maybe if he does have his own curriculum that's aimed at his age it would help him see that he isn't supposed to compete with T and that he can do work at his own level? Good luck working on this one. I do think the Optimistic Child book might be helpful.

[Annamarie]

I'm just curious how many of us will be homeschooling in the upcoming school year. How many kids and what ages?

I'll be homeschooling Ben for second grade. Tommy is not legally of age yet, but based on his competitive and perfectionistic personality :help:, I will be doing some homeschooling with him because he demands it.

I'm actually having a really hard time with the Tommy issue but it should be another post, I guess. If I give Ben any 1:1 attention, Tommy is right there, trying to do the same thing and getting very upset with himself for not being able to do it. When I helped Ben read a page from a Magic Treehouse book the other day, Tommy started loudly complaining that he wanted to read Magic Treehouse too and that he wasn't very good at reading (he reads basic books) and so on and so on. I feel like he takes a lot of my attention because then I have to spend a lot of time reassuring him that he actually is smart (he says he's not) and so on. Oops, I didn't mean that to spill over.

Anyway, we're looking at moving away from the unschooling towards very loose eclectic...just a bit of structure that Ben's been asking for. But the Tommy variable is a bit stressful.

Anyone else?

I really want to make it work and homeschool again next year. I imagine I will be a crazy lady with a filthy house and 2 babies to take care of by the 2 half of the year but my plan is to go ahead and start in August and get ahead of the game. That way I can finish mid-may like we have done this year. Megan takes her end of grade woodcock-johnson test this week and we are officially done.
I wish like everything I could consiously put them both in school but I dont' think its what I'm supposed to do. (or what God wants me to do)

[chantele]

I'm not planning on it really, but with us moving to TX it's not outside the realm of possibilty depending on how much the schools there are sucking. I have both girls enrolled in special magnet programs that in theory sound great, but we'll see what the reality is after they start.

[sarahs]

It's kind of weird for us because we've rarely done what would be considered school so I guess I've never set a precedent. We did a chemistry curric a few years ago and since Tommy was very little then, I was able to put TV on for him and sneak away with Ben for about 20 minutes.

Now that he's older and he considers Ben to be his very best friend in the whole world (i.e. he sticks to him like glue), I've had to buy T workbooks and stuff, anything that looks like what Ben is doing. When we discovered that he could read a bit, we did some "Explode the Code" but he wants my attention every other second. So, it seems like whenever I try to spend a moment with Ben, he's saying he wants help. He refuses to put the workbook down but he wants constant help. I'm hoping that some of this will diminish as he gets closer to 5. 4 is a needy age anyway.

In the past, unschooling has been perfect because it suited their personalities and Ben would initiate little projects and take Tommy along with him, basically. Now, Ben's asking for structure and "real math like they do in school". I don't think it would take much of that each week to satisfy him. But I'm thinking that maybe I just need to be creative with my time and take advantage of the time when dh is home. Actually, now that we're in the new house and they have their own rooms for the first time, I could probably do the TV trick again for 20 minute periods a day.

I've bought "The Optimistic Child" and I need to make time to read it. T is SO perfectionistic and hard on himself. We're really not a competitive family at all so we were kind of blindsided by his self-esteem issues. I mean, Ben is about to turn 7. There's a big difference between 7 and barely 4 1/2. I want to make Ben feel good about reading the Magic Treehouse stuff because Ben is convinced that he can't really read. But when I high-five Ben and tell him that he reads well or something to make him feel good, Tommy starts up. He's very hard on himself and he was so downcast over not being able to read that stupid book. I can't convince him that he's not a 7 year old. I think that's how he sees himself, as Ben's twin, instead of being 2.5 years younger.

Sorry to go on so much. I think I need to be more creative with my time.

Would a mother's helper work? Maybe a crafty/arty or nature oriented teen who could take turns with the kids doing something so you could then have one on one with each of them. Or maybe T could take some sort of class and that could be your one on one time with B. I am all about looking to outside resources rather than trying to do everything myself.

[Amanda_Reyasmom]

I'm not planning on it really, but with us moving to TX it's not outside the realm of possibilty depending on how much the schools there are sucking. I have both girls enrolled in special magnet programs that in theory sound great, but we'll see what the reality is after they start.

I'll ditto you. Not planning on it, but if school doesn't work then it doesn't work.

[kathy caribe]

Maybe making a radical shift this year. I have never gone with a standard school schedule and we are now getting ready to see what the kids think about a more structured approach. We have always been very radical unschoolers and the boys know times tables, both read, Ellen is starting to read and all know some geography, but I'm getting worried about the constant computer use. Even if it is 6 hours of Age of Empires (ellen). So we're going to have a family meeting soon and we'll see.

[Amanda_Reyasmom]

(Sneaking in...)


Decisions have not yet been made, but it's possible that Boy will be homeschooled in the fall. He would be a 4th-grader next year. His plan is to do nothing but sit around in his pajamas and read all day, and I don't really have a problem with that. :P

Girl says, "I am not going to homeschool. I like school and I want to be with my friends!" Sounds like a plan to me...


LOLOL Tween girls are fun right? :P

[jump4joy]

We're still unschoolers. Plans for next year include a bicycle tour of Italy in the fall (which means we're all learning Italian right now), more FLL Robotics with me as team coach, continuing with karate as a family, and undoubtably more music, theatre, and dance for Asa. She played her fiddle at a benefit concert a couple of weeks ago and was asked to play at a nursing home this week, so I think she'll be busy with performances, too.

Mackenzie takes his official 5th grade tests this summer. Asa will need to test for 3rd grade next summer. With them being 3 years apart and the tests only every other year, they are staggered that way. Mackenzie and I have been going over a test prep book and he's taking the practice tests. So far I have no worries for either of them on that little legal aspect of our homeschooling journey.

[threecubs]

Hugs, Toni! That's so hard. C talked a bit about wanting to go to school (about 3 years ago) and I talked to him about what he thought school would be like. He thought they'd have cool toys. LOL!

So, you probably have, but I'd talk to them about their expectations and what they think will be different about school vs homeschooling. I think a lot of homeschooled kids want to go to school at various points in their lives. IIRC, Kaleb is about C's age, and from what I've heard most kids of that age who go to school will end up coming back home (I'd say about 80% or so). When homeschooled kids go to high school, from what I've seen it's about 50/50 whether they stick to it or not.

It's a tough call--largely about what you think is best for them. Maybe there's some compromise you can come to with them. I'm sorry you have to deal with this.

Oh yes, we've had so many conversations about it, sometimes Bethany will ask again, "Mom, why is it again that we homeschool?" and I honestly tell her I don't want to discuss it. I am just weary.

I think Kaleb is a bit older than C...he will be 13 this summer, and he is full swing in puberty. He acts bored all of the time, even though he has orchestra every day, music lessons once a week, and youth orchestra once a week. His scouting group is done until fall, but nearly all of them attend our church school, and I know he wants to belong. Heck, I really can understand where he is coming from because all of the parents and kids see each other every day and do things together and I know how it feels to want to belong! Gosh, they have ski trips and birthday parties and festivals and and and...LOL! I feel sometimes like my kids miss out.

We were involved in a homeschool group for a long time that we really liked, but with Kaleb wanting to be in the junior high orchestra, it made getting to meetings impossible, so we've missed all year. They didn't really do much though, just got together and played (oftentimes it was chaos). I found that my kids loved it when they were little, but now they are bored. Kaleb really never connected with any of the kids.

I have gone as far as looking into co-ops. There are two in my are, one that I won't consider (they require "first-time-obedience"-a Pearl term, I believe). The other looks like a possibility, but a big commitment.

Anyway...I could go on and on, really. I don't want to hijack this thread! I have so much more I could say, that has been mulled about in my head for months, I just don't know how to express it all.

[threecubs]

{{{Toni}}} I know how difficult that decision is. Remember when I was trying to decide? Well, we are finishing our second year and nothing horrible has happened to her :rofl: Other the PITA school schedule, and the homework things have gone very smooth.

It came down to me letting go of my need to be "right". There is more than one "right" way for a child to learn. My right way wasn't jiving with dh's and changes were made. Life happens and our ideals are not always best for our kids. (I don't know your situation first hand, I am only speaking of *me* and my decision. Not your ideals being bad for your kids!)

:grouphug:

Oh yes, I remember very well how hard that was for you! :hugging:

I keep telling myself that if we did decide for them to go to school, it doesn't have to be for forever (and I have thought of you a lot, actually, because I would probably keep Ian home. He has no interest in going to school).

For me, it's not so much that I want to be right, but leaving the lifestyle that we have, you know? I have people that I have grown to care about that homeschool, and I am afraid of severing those ties...even though I have not made any really close friends. I am worried about Bethany losing the friends she does have (even thought she sees them rarely). Kaleb really has no homeschooled friends, and that makes me sad.

There's a whole other issue as well, and that is whether we would choose our church's school, or public school. There is so much there to that issue I can't into it all here, but that issue alone causes me a lot of anxiety!

[alottatea]

At the moment, my mom watches them the two days a week that I work at the bead shop. On rare occasions, I can get a friend from the homeschooling community to watch them (like this week when my mom had knee surgery), and sometimes my boyfriend or my brother can watch them. Honestly, though, I really don't like this arrangement because I feel like I'm indebting myself to all these people (even though rationally I *know* that they don't see it that way).

Next year when I go back to working at the homeschool program, all three kids will go with me, and their tuition will pretty much be a wash with my pay, so I don't know how I'm going to make up that missing day of work. Gah, I'm still trying to figure all this out. I just have to keep thinking it's all going to end up all right or I'll lose my mind.

[Christi]

We'll be continuing to homeschool. (Unschooling seems to be the word that fits us best, but I'm not crazy about that term.) Asa will be 5th grade - yipes! - and Isaac will be 3rd grade. Charlotte just turned 4, so she's not official yet.

[Amanda]

It fits us well and we're doing fine. My biggest struggle right now is considering getting the older kids out in the community more, while gas prices are going up and we're trying not to drive as much.

I think I need to keep reassuring myself that my kids will not grow up "broken" if they don't have activities in town multiple times a week.

I wouldn't say I have ever had it "easy," but I think having two boys close in age and two girls close in age makes it fairly easy to be at home. The kids all have someone with similar abilities and interests to hang out with. They play across age and gender lines, also, but I think their "need" for playdates is reduced. There are no playdateable kids in our neighborhood.

Currently we do a swap with another homeschooling family on Mondays (they have two kids near in age to my boys). Tuesdays for the next month we are going to a library story hour and then to a free homeschool soccer practice run by two of the parents. Wednesdays we have a group homeschoolers gathering where co-op classes are sometimes offered in the morning (the boys are taking chess class right now) and free play is in the afternoon. We only go in nice weather. Honestly, that much activity is almost too much for me!

The boys went from nonreaders to prolific, independent readers in the past year. Alden is now reading Piers Anthony and Everest is reading Tolkien. They both read stories to the girls fairly often. Seeing them go through this developmental leap has reassured me that they can and will learn "academic" things when the time is right. Everest went through a few months last year where he really wanted to improve his handwriting, so we worked on it. I'm impressed with how good his handwriting is now. The longer we homeschool, the more we settle into it as a way of life and a nonissue.

I guess that turned into an update. LOL. Anyway, we'll do more of the same next year. Lots of running around in the yard, climbing trees, snow sports, whatever we feel like.

[riversprite]

I'm just curious how many of us will be homeschooling in the upcoming school year. How many kids and what ages?

Still homelearning here, too!
Maia is 9.5 (10 in November) and Forest is 6 as of last month.

[riversprite]

(Sneaking in...)


Decisions have not yet been made, but it's possible that Boy will be homeschooled in the fall. He would be a 4th-grader next year. His plan is to do nothing but sit around in his pajamas and read all day, and I don't really have a problem with that. :P

Girl says, "I am not going to homeschool. I like school and I want to be with my friends!" Sounds like a plan to me...

Hey, interesting! How did you guys come to the idea of homeschooling? My memory is terrible for online details...have you guys homeschooled before?

[Lynn]

We are still homeschooling here.
Ben is 12, Andre is 8 1/2, Isaac is 6 and Danielle is 3.
We will have a new little one any day now and I will continue to care for my friend's 2 daughters (presently....about to turn 4 and 19 months old) in the Fall.
I won't have them in June and maybe just a day or two per week in July. August we will start to get back to the 4 or 5 day routine and hope that it still works for us all.

I find it rather tricky to "get it all done" with the extra girls here. The cleaning suffers most often.
This year I had them 4 days a week.
I think as long as I call myself an unschooler at heart then the balance I can make with Mark's "very not an unschooler" attitude.........seems to work for us.

It is always interesting and busy but it works for us.
So I am hoping it will work for new baby too. LOL

~Lynn
trying to patiently wait to meet our newest muffin

[Sparrow]

Even though Jack has been in public school since kindy, I think around this time I'm always *planning* to homeschool in the fall, lol. What's entirely ridiculous this year, is that I'm finally, *finally* in the best position ever to have Jack learn freely. My husband (italics cause its new and fun to say that) is sooo gung ho about homeschooling and since he's on disability and will probably always be the SAHP, there is nothing really stopping us now. Except that this last half of the year Jack has had so much support in place at his school and the principal says she's handpicked a teacher for him next year and we're working on getting an IEP in place. Its all this stuff that I've been working so hard for since he first went into public school. And Jack is pretty ok about the idea of school although he likes the homeschool option too. So now I just don't know. I know that public school will never be the right learning environment for Jack and eventually I really don't see any other option that homeschooling. I guess if it wasn't an option right now tho I'd be excited to see what next year at PS brings for him. I just really love his principal and counselor there.

Whats even more funny is that I plan on sending z at least partime to daycare/preschool in the fall even though I don't have to. Cause that is so much her style and personality. I know she will simply love it. She's the type that if I went to the supermarket and plunked her down in someone elses cart she's wave bye to me and get excited about her new adventure, lol.

I swear, life is mind boggling and amusing at times.

We're going to see how things go over the summer and I'm going to talk more to Jay(dh) about homeschooling ideas and I guess we'll just see.

[Hawthorne]

Even though Jack has been in public school since kindy, I think around this time I'm always *planning* to homeschool in the fall, lol. What's entirely ridiculous this year, is that I'm finally, *finally* in the best position ever to have Jack learn freely. My husband (italics cause its new and fun to say that) is sooo gung ho about homeschooling and since he's on disability and will probably always be the SAHP, there is nothing really stopping us now. Except that this last half of the year Jack has had so much support in place at his school and the principal says she's handpicked a teacher for him next year and we're working on getting an IEP in place. Its all this stuff that I've been working so hard for since he first went into public school. And Jack is pretty ok about the idea of school although he likes the homeschool option too. So now I just don't know. I know that public school will never be the right learning environment for Jack and eventually I really don't see any other option that homeschooling. I guess if it wasn't an option right now tho I'd be excited to see what next year at PS brings for him. I just really love his principal and counselor there.

Whats even more funny is that I plan on sending z at least partime to daycare/preschool in the fall even though I don't have to. Cause that is so much her style and personality. I know she will simply love it. She's the type that if I went to the supermarket and plunked her down in someone elses cart she's wave bye to me and get excited about her new adventure, lol.

I swear, life is mind boggling and amusing at times.

We're going to see how things go over the summer and I'm going to talk more to Jay(dh) about homeschooling ideas and I guess we'll just see.

Ooh, I really relate to this! In our situation school was obviously not working for Lily, but it was so hard for me to leave that group of people. I loved her Kindergarten and 1st grade teacher and her 1st grade teacher already had a recommendation for 2nd grade.
Even though we're planning on homeschooling all three this year, other scenarios are running through my head constantly. I guess I feel like none of the options are totally ideal... I love having my kids at home with me, but I'm so disorganized that I don't feel completely adequate when it comes to schooling them.
I really dislike being around people in the homeschool set who are public school bashers, because overall we had such a warm experience in school.

[Storymama]

<---- Is done, done, DONE :bliss:. Homeschooling was wonderful for us, but wheeee . . . on to the next.

I know this is like posting in a "who's expecting when?" thread with a "Not me!" LOL! But it's kinda momentous on its own.

Of course, I caught Tori doing solvent experiments with pennies and multiple solvents in the kitchen a few nights ago, and she got about 2 pounds of new aquatic plants in the mail this week, and Amelia has signed on to do an artists' cooperative thing this summer, and and and and. Some of that smells a little bit familiar :rolleyes: LOL . . . .

[Christi]

<---- Is done, done, DONE :bliss:. Homeschooling was wonderful for us, but wheeee . . . on to the next.



Wow, Mandi, what a huge milestone! You deserve a huge pat on the back. Congratulations to you and your girls. You done good.

:yay:

[jump4joy]

Wow, so awesome!!!! Congrats to you and your girls, that's a momentous thing there! Of course, those curious learners won't just stop because they're done homeschooling, LOL.

[gfrach]

Congrats to all of you! Woohoo!! What an accomplishment for you all!

[ceross]

Avellana will be heading into sixth grade.
Merryn will be heading into fourth.
Liadan will be a first grader.
I can hardly believe they are that far along. It really does go fast.

We continue to be very eclectic in our approach. We borrow ideas from Waldorf, Mason, and Hirsch (strange bedfellows) but we are aiming for unschooling highschool (sort of backwards from the usual pattern.)

Every year we find more reasons to love home schooling...and new challenges. :shockfunny:

[lindavw]

We'll continue unschooling 14, 12, 9 and two 40-somethings

[jump4joy]

We'll continue unschooling 14, 12, 9 and two 40-somethings


LOL, I love it! That's how it feels around here too.

[laurata]

We're planning to, but at this point, I have no idea what the hell that is going to look like. This past weekend we attended the LIFE is Good Northwest Unschooling Conference, and the my surprise, I finally gave up the unschooling fight with my husband. We will no longer be unschooling, and I have no idea where to go from here. So far, we plan to enjoy our memberships to the zoo and the aquarium, and I guess to tackle spelling, reading, and arithmatic curriuculums. I just hope this change doesn't make me and the kids completely miserable. :spinning:

[Sherri]

We'll be homeschooling. Morgan went to a 2-mornings a week preschool this year and she will to 3 mornings a week there next year. That's been a really good experience for her, and I'm glad she can continue into the year she's eligible for Kindergarten. It's at a local Audoban Society and they learn a lot about the natural world and do things like tap maple trees, press cider, watch their room full of monarch chrysalides become butterflies, hatch chickens from eggs, watch tadpoles develop, etc. She really loves large group creative play.

The best thing about the year is that we have a family we are really good friends with. A boy Daniel's age and a girl Morgan's, and they all play wonderfully together. The Mom has been applying for work, so I may have them over even more often if she gets a job. It's been a great growth experience for Daniel, knowing how to have lots of fun on a playdate with someone he knows well. It's the first year that some playdates have been very, very relaxing for me, lol.

Sherri

[Stacey]

I spy your teeny-tiny announcement (which doesn't show up in the quote).

Congratulations!! :-)




Maya will be registered 3rd grade and Sagan registered 1st (even though he'll be in "2nd grade" Sunday School). Anya will only be 4.5, so I've got a few more years before I have to notify the school district about her.

We're unschoolers that fall pretty close to the "radical" end of the spectrum, though. So aside from the kids occasionally being enamored with the idea of workbooks, there's very little formal schooling that goes on. They have been asking for a bit of Waldorf schoolishness in our days, so I think I'll try to incorporate more of that. In the fall, they'll all be going to the once a week Waldorf-inspired homeschoolers class where I'll be teaching the first grade level, and they seem to enjoy that a lot.

It's been a bit of an adjustment since I started a second part time job last month, but I think everything is going to work out.

[threecubs]

I spy your teeny-tiny announcement (which doesn't show up in the quote).

Congratulations!! :-)

A-Ha! What a good eye!


Congratulations, Sarah!!!! :smile:

[alottatea]

Oh my! I didn't realize that changing the sigline made it show up on the old posts! LOL! And here I was trying to work up the courage to make a post.

Thank you!

[Christi]

Oh my! I didn't realize that changing the sigline made it show up on the old posts! LOL! And here I was trying to work up the courage to make a post.

Thank you!

Oh, wow! Congratulations!!