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POLKADOT*FLOWER
4/7/06 10:09 A
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Just popping in to let you know we did start a homeschool site. It is under parenting and Family, and is called We Love Homeschooling. Hugs, Barbara
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Thanks for the info! Don't know what we will end up doing with schooling but it is nice to be "armed" with as much knowledge as possible!
S
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Remember when it comes to testing, standardized tests are still "grade" or "level" oriented and don't necessarily reflect the child's education but only what other children have done at that same level. As the parent AND teacher, I already know how my son will do on a standardized test just by the material we cover each year. I don't teach to the test so I don't really have much concern in the results. (we don't have to turn in test results but do need to keep records of them.) Some years he migh have a low math score, the next it will be high (For example, we worked longer one year on multiplication facts, another year on fractions, but didn't get to decimals. It showed in the test). In the long term, my son has a better grounding in math, but it may not reflect in nationally normed tests immediately. Language arts scores is consistantly in the 80-90th percentile.
I administer the CAT basic skills test at home each year for my own records. You will need to check with your state homeschool laws as each state has their own requirements. We do the CAT over a couple of days although it is only a few hours of testing. Each section is timed and once finished, we send it back to be independantly scored. The basic skills covers math and language arts.
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MUJERAMARAVILLA
4/2/06 3:35 P
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| have any of you had yuor kids in awesome schools to be faced with a move? we are looking at possibly moving and our kids are in a phenomenal classical school. I am worried to put them into another type of school....
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What exactly does the CAT test have on it? How long is it? What do you think of it?
S
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| Between March and April every year I administer the CAT/5 test to my children.
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Hi Homeschool Moms
I was just wondering if you could tell me more about the testing your kids do. I have an Ele Ed degree and taught for 5 years but am now home with my 22 mo old son. We have not decided what to do about schooling yet but are open to the different options!
Thanks for your help!
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Hi I'm new to this site and have been homeschooling for 3 years now. I have a 13 year old son in 7th and an 8 year old daughter in 2nd.
I personaly made the decision to homeschool when my son was in 4th grade. He was a straight A student through his entire academic career until that year. He was tired of being bullied and called "teacher's pet" so he made the choice to be more "like his friends." Considering that 8 of the 24 students in his class had failed the previous year (3 of them had failed the past 2 years!) this was not a wise decision. Also, his attitude at home had changed from a mild mannered, respectful child to that of a brat!
I can honestly say that homeschooling saved our family. He is a completely different child now. We still keep in touch with his best friend from public school who started out the same way my son did. He is now failing most of his subjects and has been expelled twice this year! I know that if I had left Frank in school he would be following down the same path.
As for socialization or the dreaded "S" word, I think we are over socialized! My kids are very involved with scouts, karate, church, and COOP. Not to mention art classes, canoe classes, guitar and choir. Every day of our week is filled with some activity!
They also spend plenty of time with friends and family. We are fortunate to live close to both grandma's and the kids alternate between the two every friday. I can honestly say they are closer to their grandparents than I ever was!
I truly believe in homeschooling! Not just as an alternative to public school but as a way of life.
KIM
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You sure are lucky!!! I love the fact that you have a quaterly Saturday school for the whole family.That sounds very intrusting. Do you guys get a good respond from the parents? If we were to even suggest that the parents would probably be upset.
When I when to drop Nicole to school this morning I was so upset to see so many kids running up & down, I went and ask one teacher why were the kids not being supervised by any adults and you know what she said....That parents refuse to pay $5.00 a MONTH for someone to keep an eye on them before school starts.
Than God I'm able to drop Nicole 5 minutes before the school bell rings.
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RUNNINGMAMMA
3/23/06 12:05 P
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My oldest son is 7 and is in 2nd grade at a charter school. We love it. The classes are small and he learns so much. They also have elective arts classes there, one quarter he has drama, the next he has art, the next is music, and another is dance. They also have spanish twice a week and p.e. twice a week. We also have a quarterly family Saturday school day where the whole family comes to school to participate in activities. I feel so lucky, it is very much like a private school, but for free.
My youngest son is about to turn 3 and he goes to a preschool. He has been going for about a year now. I will also have him go to the charter school when he is ready for kindergarten.
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Hi Karen, I can understand your point in homeschooling your kids I thing if my child classroom would grow from 20-35 kids I would definitely homeschool too.
Here things are more quated. Parents don't get involved as much. I'm very involved with the teachers and I'm also one of the ClassParent. Which means we get to know most of what goes on with the kids. Sometimes I feel so sorry when the kids go to school and don't have the materials they need. I feel as if the parents don't care at all what's going on in the classroom. Lots of them go to school without even doing their homework.
I also feel that the kids are the living example of their parents. I'm really sorry to say this but you can see which parents care about their school activities by just looking at the kids books and the way they are dress.
My daughter Nicole loves her school and her teachers. At this point Im very haappy with the public school.
The kids get homework on Monday, Wednesday & Friday and they take a book to read on Tuesday & Thursday.
I totally agree with you Becky, Thankfully, we all have a choice.
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I also homeschool my son, 13 and have since 3rd grade. Homeschooling is a good fit for him and he has excelled academically (he was the class clown in traditional school) and socially (no longer a follower but now a leader). I can promise that a degree is not needed to teach your child. Homeschooling includes teaching, but as they get older, you are more of a resource manager.
My son is active in Boy Scouts working on his Eagle rank, plays spring and fall baseball, tennis, drama club, volunteers weekly at the library and participates in more activities than I can list here. Socialization is NOT an issue. He graduates from 8th grade this year. Our homeschool group has a formal ceremony each year for honors and graduates.
Homeschooling isn't for everyone, but neither is public or private school. Thankfully, we all have a choice.
Blessings!
Becky
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Madonna:
While my first two children were in public school, they were in smaller classes. Although my daughter was an A/B honor roll student, sometimes she required additional help understanding some of her work. I would spend 4 to 5 hours doing homework with her. I felt that if I was spending that amount of time with her, I might as well homeschool her. The class sizes were going to go from 20 up to 35 per teacher. She would be lost in a class that big.
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Hi Karen my hat goes off to you. It seems that you're doing a great job with your kids.
I personally only have one daughther and she is only 5. She started Pre-K at a private school when she was 3. I wasn't too happy with what she was doing then. So I move her to another private school where she did Kindergarten she graduated at the age of 4 being the 2nd best out of the whole graduation class. She started year one at a public school before she even turn 5.
On her first exams she came home with a Honor Roll bumper sticker. I was so proud of my little girl. She came 2nd with a 99 percentage. She can now read & write without any problem.
My problem with the private schools were that they pay more attention to other things than learning. And no matter how much a company or someone else donates money for the school they are always looking for more money.
The public school are more advance in the learning than the private schools. My daughter is very happy with the school there are 20 kids in the class room and 2 teachers. They have two pets and each class room have two private batrooms.
I know that each school is vey different in their own way but here in the Cayman Islands the public schools are better than the private schools.
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New to this blog. I, too, homeschool my three children. I have been for the past 8 years and wouldn't have it any other way. Yes, we take a lot of flack from our family that think they know better than we do how to raise our children. I turn a deaf ear to them. They are hypocritical. First, they talk about all the violence, drugs and teachers having sexual relations with students and wonder what the world is coming to. Then they think you're crazy for not wanting your kids to be put in to that kind of enviroment. Don't make sense to me, does it you?
I have a college degree but not in education. I graduated with top honors from the college I attended 20 years ago before I had children.
My children are well socialized with a diverse group of people. They are not "backwards" in any sense of the word. They have friends that are young, old, big, little, various hues and various ethnicities. They have friends that are homeschooled and friends that are in public school. They are active in the scouts, volunteer with the local fire department and the local senior center.
My eldest (a daughter) will be graduating this year and is considering a career in the military. My middle child (a son) is well on his way to Eagle Scout and writing a book. My youngest (also a boy) is also in the scouts and is extremely athletic (if he don't become the next Brett Farve he wants to be the next John Cena). They all enjoy Spongebob Squarepants and other mind-numbing rot like that. Hahaha.
As to the expense of things, my husband and I earn approx $35K a year gross. (Not rich by any stretch of the word). He works full-time during the day and I work PT at night. I buy most of my curriculum used, which helps eleviate the cost of homeschooling. I am also attending college part-time (thanks to Pell grants). I am persuing a degree in Radiography, so that I'll have a career after the kids leave home.
I am also a cancer survivor. I went thru cancer treatments two years ago. Wasn't easy for the kids, but, thanks be to God, we made it.
So, as you can see, we have a full life. I've really enjoyed having my kids with me (most of the time) and wouldn't go back and change a thing.
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| Hi. Just joined sparks today, i homeschool 2 of my kids now, other 4 are too young. can't believe I found other moms in my boat so quickly. My sister told me about this site in passing. just had our baby 3 weeks ago but ready to lose this weight NOW. any advise to a new member who is home all day with 6 kids ? I love to walk, but when? I know I am new but would be interested in a homeschool site as well.
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NETLOCMOMMA
3/20/06 9:21 A
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When choosing a school for your children I think you need to first find out about class size. As long as teachers are excited, the principal and staff are encouraging and class sizes are small any school can be a great experiance. I'm sure that some private schools can offer more simply because they are so expensive that they leave out the majority of the children. (at least here in the USA)
I homeschool my children right now. We are a military family, we have moved a lot. My husband just came home from a long tour overseas. We needed stability. I have a 6th grader and two 1st graders. I've also got a 2yo. I use the K12 program, you can check it out at www.k12.com. It is a great program that is very structured. I like structure, I feel like I need it to keep us on track.
Homeschool is difficult. Free time is suddenly gone. Even though most of my work is done for me, such as planning lessons, I still work very hard to get everything going.
Good luck in your decision.
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| Thanks ladies for all the information I am recieving and helping me decide.
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| I vote for the homeschool site.. that's actually what I was looking for when I found this one!
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MUJERAMARAVILLA
3/18/06 4:29 P
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| Do your kiddos wear uniforms? I LOVE the uniform thing. It is fabulous. I need to buy way less clothes overall except of course in the summer.
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SHUCKYMAMA
3/18/06 2:16 P
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| My kids go to a charter school as well. It is s great alternative to the public school system and it is free. The school is run by its own Board of directors.
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MUJERAMARAVILLA
3/18/06 10:22 A
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Hi all,
My boys actually go to a wonderful charter school. It is run like a private school yet is free to us as a public school. We are very blessed. I had planned on homeschooling our boys if they didn't get into the charter school after a bad experience with our neighborhood school and BAM the oldest got in then the other two after him.
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POLKADOT*FLOWER
3/18/06 6:48 A
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| Hi ladies! So nice to meet some more homeschoolers! Would you be interested in making a homeschool site on here? There have been a few, but they seem to have died out. I just thought it might be better than taking over this site- since there are non-homeschoolers here. I don't want to offend anyone, but would love to answer the socialization question!!!! God bless. Hugs, Barbara
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It's great to see all you who homeschool. It is such a unique way of life, it's hard at times to find those who can relate. I homeschool my 6 and 3 year old and I love that I can share this time with them. I think my favorite aspect is watching them learn so quickly with our one on one setting. They learn and grow at their individual pace, which isn't allowed in public school.
My second favorite is socialization! (little sarcasm here  ) I wonder, what are the thoughts of those homeschooling think about this issue?
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MISSMYFIGURE
3/17/06 10:33 P
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| My family is actually a second generation homeschool group. My husband was homeschooled from 7th grade on. His mom took him out of school because he tested at a 4th grade level and she felt confident enough to help him get back on track. He graduated above average and has went on to become a network engineer. I knew I wanted to homeschool since I was 15. I didn't have a pleasant high school experience and I had friends who homeschooled and enjoyed hanging with them on my school days off. My husband and I met years later and then we both knew we wanted to homeschool. I school 3 children right now. My 4th is too little. It has been a wonderful experience for us all.
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| Thanks for all the information.
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I've been homeschooling for 10 years (2 kids, one's finished schooling now) and my only regret is that my kids ever went to school! :-)
They didn't miss out on anything (except perhaps being bullied) and our family life has been much richer for it.
The kids have been involved with choirs, musicals, bands, writing classes, scouting, gymnastics and many other social events for homeschooled kids and just "regular" kids :-) Life has been as full as they wanted.
I would highly recommend you do some googling on homeschooling - there is SO much on the internet to help. And I would also recommend any book by John Holt.
Lynnette
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| I am a special education teacher, and I know that public schools are required to provide services to ANY child in their district, regardless of whether the child is homeschooled, in private school, or enrolled in public school. Just contact your local school board office. Your child can receive speech services free of charge even if you are homeschooling. I don't know where you are but if you are in the US this applies. Good luck and let me know if I can help you further.
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| As a taxpayer you should be able to have the therapy without him being in school. My dd is in a private school and the school district sends an OT to the school for her.
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MAMAWOLFE3
3/15/06 11:13 A
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| I really want to home school but it looks like my son is going to need speech therapy and our insurance does not pay for it. But the local school has a special needs preschool so I am looking into enrolling him.
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Haven't checked in a while. Hope everyone is well and I appreciate everything you ladies have to say because I wouldn't have thought about some of the things you have said.
Ashley
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| I JUST HAD TO REPLY TO U, WAY TO GO, I HAVE ONLY 7 AND HOMESCHOOL. LOVE TO SHARE STORIES WITH U I AM SURE U COULD KEEP ME INCOURAGED
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| There are a coupld of other "homeschool" options online. Calvert is one. They provide the curriculum, and then we as parents do the teaching. They also provide online parent and teacher support. There are a few others, but I don't remember the names right now.
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My son is almost 2, and I have been considering Charter school. I started at Private Christian school and would have been stuck there, if I had not asked to switch. THere were a few things I really didn't agree with that they were trying to tell us. So I switched to Public in 10th grade, my one brother switched at 9th, and the other in 6th. We were lucky to have such a good public school. They even have prayer during graduation. We live right on the board between 2 schools right now, and I think the charter is nice cause they have the smaller class rooms, and parents are required to help out so many hours a month. This way more parents care about what is going on in the school.
Just my opinion.
Beckie
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Yep, They also have charter schools in the Denver metro area. We looked a little into that option as well when we found out that the public school for the area where we moved to was considered a "Track School".
I just didn't like the idea of having her start school and not even go on the same days every week. And it is a little weird having kids from the apartment complex being out of school randomly and causing trouble because they don't have anything to do when they are randomly off school.
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| Just curious, do you have charter schools there?
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Yes ... I think we are probably lucky in the Denver area to have the option of Cyberschooling and in this case have the school be a Public school as well. There are at least 2 other schools that do Cyberschooling in the Denver area. However, I am not sure that either of them are associated with Public Schools in Colorado.
I know that they have a Coalition to keep showing the representatives that this is a schooling option they need to keep for Families that it works well for. I am not really sure if other states have this option or only in certain areas or how it works.
I think it would be interesting to see how many areas have the option of Cyberschooling or Public Schools that have the option to do schooling as an online program.
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| How lucky you are to have a public school that supports home schooling in your community. I have an elementary ed background to...wish I had the courage to home school but know I would just play with my dd all day...LOL
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I just posted for the first time on the topic of Stay-at-Home Moms Message Board.
My Daughter doesn't quite do Homeschooling as the program she does is part of a Public School in Branson, Colorado.
However, I have background in Elementary Education. And with all the information I have seen over the years I always wanted to Homeschool my children. However, my husband had been unemployed on and off for something like almost 2 years I think it was before he finally got employeed with the current company and then transferred from Iowa out to Denver, Colorado.
I was gonna have a heck of a fight on my hands with his Parents wanting to say their piece all the time about how I raise my children and my Father agreeing with his Parents' perspective on Homeschooling and all. Plus it might have been tough if we had to spend money on all of the curriculum and supplies ourself.
With Branson School Online the curriculum is provided by the school and emailed to us in checklists for each week. If I have questions about how to do any of the activities for the "assignments" with Jessica I can email or call her Teacher. And we also have a weekly time for a phone call with her Teacher. During this time she works on things with Jessica on the phone and I can talk to her about how things are going and if I have any questions.
Some days I wish I had more recent Elementary Education knowledge. However, right now it is going very well. And with this type of program having stuff all layed out. I have the opportunity to add things as I see them relate instead of having to come up with the curriculum for her schoolwork all by myself.
Also I do happen to be Catholic. And I have found that even though the curriculum is coming from a Public school I haven't had any major problems with any of the assignments so far. In fact one of the websites we went to for an activity ... I was able to find an activity for the Advent Wreath for preparing for Christmas.
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My youngest is currently in grade 2 at a Lutheran school and I could NOT be more pleased. My dd had some disabilities that I felt would be best addressed in a smaller classroom setting and with a little extra tlc afforded due to class size. She is with 9 other kids and thriving.
Just don't be hard on yourself when making a decision about what is 'best'. What works today may not work tomorrow for your child or your family. The administrator or school district could change policies tomorrow. You could LOVE the school and have no regard or respect for the teacher selected for your child. Don't forget a teacher that works for one of your children may not 'mesh' with the other.
Enjoy making your decision and feel free to change it to best meet your needs and the needs of your family.
Blessings.
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| I thought this would be a good discussion.
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| this was great to read - thanks everyone
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| Thank you Barbara I really appreciate your opinion and your insight because of all of your experience with your kids. I am still looking into everything.
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POLKADOT*FLOWER
3/10/06 9:31 A
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Ashbee- You know me from another site, but I just had to say a word here. I hadn't looked in here, but my mom did and asked me to say a word here.
So here goes. We homeschool.We have for a long time now. I do not have a degree in education. I do have lots of love and care more about my childrens education than any one on the planet.
I do not PLOP my children anywhere. They happily do sit at the kitchen table and do their school work. I do have them learn most of it on their own. That is by choice- a well thought out choice. I want my children to know how to learn. I refuse to spoon feed them, so they can spit it back out for a test. I want them to love learning and be able their whole lives to keep learning. I AM there as a guide and a cheerleader. They love to learn, and to read, and can't wait to share the magical things they learn every day.
I do limit their exposure- and I also expose them to much more than they would ever see sitting in a classroom all day.
I have four that are through school. All are doing great. My 25 year old finished her 4 year degree in 3 years, while working full time. She graduated with high honors from the University of Texas in Houston. Her salary will probably top $100,000 this year. She plans to homeschool her children if she is blessed to have any.
My children take the CAT test each year. They never score under the 90% mark. Usually higher. We have had several perfect scores through the years. The SAT scores were out of this world.
I am sharing this to one end, choose what is best for your family. Each of us as parents are still responsible for what our children learn- no matter what the setting. But don't lump all of us- public, private, homeschoolers in to any one group.
I love homeschooling. I love having my children with me. I love being the one to open the world of reading up to them. I am thrilled that we have to spend a small fortune on books because my children read so much and so FAST!! I hope each of you are as happy as I am, with what-ever you choose. God bless each of you as you raise the little souls God has given to you. Hugs, Barbara
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| Thank you for your opinion I value everything anyone has to say.
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Hi,
We had this debate at home too. We didnt want to do public school because of its spin on everything. The only options were then homeschooling or catholic schooling.
We are not catholic, but feel that it is better than public school, although we do a lot of "unteaching" of what we dont believe spiritually.
The best thing I can tell you is that you can always try whichever one you feel better about. If it doesnt work out, try the next one. He's young enough that it wont mess him up yet.
I think its when you start flinging kids around here and there that messes them up. They need stability and constance.
You can do lots of things at home with him now, to prepare him for whatever you decide to do later.
HTH's some!
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| Well thank you for the information.
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LILSPARKGIRL
3/8/06 5:29 P
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I wouldn't homeschool unless I finished my degree as well as specialty classes on how children learn. I don't agree with "learn it with your child" because I feel it limits the childs exposure.
I don't think plopping them at the kitchen table with a curriculum and having the child learn it on their own is a great idea either.
SO...My son did private school until he was five and then he started public school in grade one (he was skipped a grade).
Nine years later I had my daughter. I am going to do my best to keep her in private school until grade 3 or 5. It depends on if the school is able to deal with her. She's very bright, and sometimes her school doesn't have a "place" for her. The reason I like the school is because it is real life spiritual. She gets more than abc's and playtime out of her preschool. It's an area that public schools can't offer. It's a Lutheran school.
My son excels in public school and has learned how to socialize with people of different ages, races, cultures and traditions.
I would want both in public high school because the excellent private schools are too far away.
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| The School is located in a church. It is Heavenly Host Lutheran School. It has a mothers day out program it is from 8:30-2:30 on Tuesdays. He is not completely potty trained yet but hoping by September so he can enter K-1. The School offers MDO(mother's day out), K-1, K-2, and K - 8 grades. But that is it. and I don't think there is another private school in our area but I love it so far and was wanting to know about home school because I attended public school and it was not a great experience.
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HI Michelle,
My youngest daughter (Peyton) just turned two in February and will be starting a pre-school in the fall. We didn't put her sister (Sydney) in pre-school until she was three but it is only 4 hours twice a week. The two year old program is one day a week for 4 hours. Peyton is not potty trained (or even close to learning). Who knows where she will be with it when September comes around but it is not a requirement for this school. I know certain schools vary...Our pre-school is a local church and I've been really happy with them and Sydney enjoys playing with the other kids too.
Kel
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| I am interested too. What kind of private school does he attend now? I am just curious because my daughter is 17 months, and I thought she couldn't start anything until she was 3 and potty trained.
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My son is only two but he already attends a private school one day a week for mothers day out. The experience so far is great. I was wanting to know what are the pros and cons of each. If anyone has any advice and your experience I would appreciate it.
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