Home school
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Home school
| Wed, 08-18-2004 - 2:59pm |
I am a stay at home mom to a beatiful 16 month old little girl. I want to be at home for her even when she starts school. My husband and I are always discussing what we would maybe like to do for her schooling when the time comes. My husband is from England, where school is much more strict than it is here the U.S. and much less violent. He is a bit scared for her. I worry that by homeschooling she won't develop her social skills and abilities to make friends. I would like some feedback on how others feel or what they have decided for their own children. Much appreciated!!!

I think the choice to homeschool depends on you. It's very personal. My neighbor homeschools her three children. At first I didn't know what to make of that, but she was an elementary school teacher before staying home with her kids so she has the credentials. I can see that she would want to use them at home. And her results speak for themselves. Her kids are great. Polite, articulate, creative, clever. Her dd is 6 mo younger than my dd (who attended a 3 yr old preschool program last year). Her dd is smart as a whip and because she participates when her brothers have their lessons, she is more advanced than my own dd in the basics as well as in independant problem solving.
This mom goes out of her way, I must say, to socialize her kids. I think she networks with other homeschool moms and there are always lots of other moms and kids around. They also make sure that the boys (6 and 9) are active in sports. I think the state requires physical education hours. Homeschool moms could tell you more about the requirements and challenges.
I, myself, would not attempt it ... unless I had no choice ... unless my kids were being harmed or we found their school very lacking and I had no alternatives for their education. Or perhaps if my child had some kind of special needs that I thought the school could not accomodate in a positive way. But that's me. I know my temperment and I am not a teacher. I have lots of patience as a parent for the things that I can naturally teach my kids and for working with them once they are in school for support and help with academics. But I would not want the added responsibility for the whole of their education. I couldn't possibly provide the kind of well-rounded experience/expertise that I hope they will have in a school setting. And I believe the social aspects of school, while they present lots of challenges (today more than ever) are an education in and of themselves. Plus I think it's important for my kids to be exposed to lots of other people, with different gifts and different strengths and weaknesses ... the world is such a big place and it has so much to offer. I think they get enough of me (!) as their mom.
As long as the child thrives, I think it's all good. I would be interested to hear about the challenges other moms have faced with conventional schooling ... and if those problems inspired them to reconsider homeschooling. My oldest doesn't start kindergarten until next year ....
Hi, I am a homeschooling mom. I am currently homeschooling my 7 year old son and my almost 3 year old son. The question of socialization in one of the biggest that homeschoolers get. My view is that
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Here is the link to the homeschool board on IVillage.........
Hope this helps.....
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-pphomeschool
it is a very personal choice..our reasonings were not only due to the fact that we have already put one thru public school, but many others..... one is the fact that both my girls are very good dancers, and both are in a dance co. so homeschooling gives them extra time to be able to pursue their love for dance.and to be able to do more local performances and competitions. it also gives them more time to perfect their piano skills....one mom in a chat one day, got nasty with me , and accused me of keeping my kids in a mommy bubble....lol...some bubble they live in.. they do more social and public stuff then most other kids do..along with being very active in our local library, and reading and dancing during story times....we dont worry about socialization.. they get the kind of socialization that I want them to have.....not on the playground where they will be getting a sex education at the age of 6... or a social education on "if you buy me gifts i will be your friend" type stuff.... or the clique type of socialization where they can ONLY be friends with certain kids...
my kids make friends with all kinds of kids, poor, rich, black, white, delayed, or smart. they know no cliques. they know no differences... they just know they are their friends..
it's a personal choice, and a hard decision to make...you will always wonder if you are doing the right thing by your child, which ever decision you make.... public or home.. so you just have to sit back ,and look at your child, and see how they are maturing, and decide then if you are doing the right thing for your child.. at this time in my girls life, i KNOW i am doing the right thing for them..and they tell me i am.. they LOVE homeschooling... i hope i helped answer some of your questions... try the homeschooling board, you will get lots of answers...lol....
With a little effort on your part, socialization isn't an issue with homeschooling in *most* areas. There is no end to the resources available to homeschooling parents today. Now granted, it might be difficult in a rural area, but otherwise, any suburban/city dweller ought to be able to scrape up more than enough social activities ;) We definately plan to homeschool- we considered the social issue, but realized that 1) public/private schools are not intended to be social arenas, but rather *academic* ones. 2) with a bit of forethought, creativity and effort, one can have abundant social experiences as a part of the homeschooling context. (Do you have to go to work to have a social life? I know *I* don't ;) Also- IMO it's not necessarily such a great thing to have only the same age children in the classroom and expect it to be the foundation of a child's social experience and social education... ;) We started looking for social outlets here in our area, starting with the local community centers, libraries, colleges, online homeschooling groups