Thoughts on homeschooling?

Are the safety concerns not enough 😄 the amount of school shootings, hate crimes within schools, sexual assault cases. There’s not even cameras in the classrooms….in addition to the quality of education continuing to get lower, the propaganda/ politics of what they teach,the mental health problems these children suffer from bullying… choosing to homeschooling was a no brainer for me.

I homeschooled for preschool and I felt like maybe I made a mistake .. until we enrolled my son into school for kindergarten (because he asked) and during his little evaluation they said he was exceptional 🥰 I really feel like that extra time at home gave him confidence security and stability at home. No dig to other parents at all and everyone needs to make these decisions based on life circumstances but the longer they are with you at home the better. However, if you feel like you can’t mentally and physically give your kid what they need (meaning the social and educational aspect) it may not be the best option. Homeschooled kids aren’t freaks lol unless the parents are ! But there are some great videos on YouTube about homeschooling and if it’s a good choice for you. ❤️

We homeschool and absolutely love it! For literally everything Denise said above. Our kids are SO well rounded - per literally everyone we come in contact with. Their interests are vast, their social skills are so good. They aren’t weird, we do activities with them. Our oldest has done soccer, basketball, and now baseball. He’s loving baseball and he gets to go practice and play when public school is still in and he’s realized that he wouldn’t get the extra time he does if he went to real school. The thought of 1) having to be up and out the door rushing every morning 2) them going to school straight to after school activities, coming home potentially late after activities and then having to rush to do dinner, homework, baths, bed 3) packing lunches or paying for school lunches 4) little free time… it all sounds awful to me 😂 We get the parks and museums to ourselves during the weekdays. We get to choose our curriculum and how long we do school each day. It’s all tailored to them

Heyy so I personally would recommend against it just based on my own personal experience being raised homeschool my entire school life. I felt very alienated from my friends, and still to this day I feel like there’s so much I missed out on that I wish I hadn’t. It also created a bit of an unhealthy attachment toward my parents that I had to work hard to get rid of after years and years of work and therapy. So I would only recommend it if you are an extremely driven, motivated person that can keep a consistent schedule every single day and also keep them in extra curricular activities multiple times a week. I thought it might be good to offer some insight from the homeschooled and not just the homeschooling. One of my greatest wishes in life would be to have the opportunity to go back in time and convince my parents not to homeschool me 😅

I’m a certified teacher and I am against it. Just because you know something, does not mean you can teach it. For example, If I went around and quizzed people on their letter sounds, 80% of people would say them wrong right now. And that’s okay. But when you are teaching and learning things, little details are important. Parents cannot be the end all be all for children imo. We need professionals and scientists and doctors to help us. That being said, it is possible to homeschool correctly. But I’d guess 80% of the time it is bad news and the kids are unprepared for the real world or schooling or careers.

I also want to add that even though there was a lot of flexibility in our schedule and of course we had one-on-one time, it’s still extremely important for kids to have a very consistent, structured schedule. I found it to be a bit harder as an adult getting used to that self discipline required to wake up and be at work on time every morning after no experiencing that much as a kid

I don’t think homeschoolers are all weird, so there’s no option for me to choose. I personally would never, unless there was an extreme circumstance. I’m not a teacher. I just want to be their mom, not their full time educator. I had an amazing school experience and so did my husband. I wouldn’t want to take that away from them.

My son is about to end his kindergarten year and my daughter preschool. They both LOVE school. I think they would hate me if I took them out 😂

If you want to homeschool I recommend reading up on pedagogy. Teaching is not just content knowledge

Maybe it would help make your decision easier if you toured the public schools, private school and see what is offered in your area. A good public school depends on many factors, one being your school district, curriculum offered and more. The same with private schools. Homeschooling has its benefits too. There are many curriculums offered today that help make teaching your kids easier. There are also co-ops and homeschooling groups. You will have to do your research to see which is best. I think the right school/kind of schooling depends on your child and it may change as the years go by.

I was homeschooled from kindergarten through senior year and I plan to homeschool my children. You don’t have to do all one or the other. My younger sister did some of her classes at public school and some homeschool during high school. Whether or not homeschooling will work depends on the child, the parent, and the curriculum. I loved being homeschooled

I think it completely depends on the circumstance. I think it’s possible to homeschool and do an excellent job and give your child a top notch education. I also think it’s possible to send your child to school and for them to learn nothing and get nowhere. And vice versa. I don’t understand how anyone could have a hard and fast opinion like “homeschool = bad, school = good”. This is a false dichotomy.

Secondary school teacher here. I’m really on the fence with this. First of all, I absolutely do not think home schoolers are ‘weird’ at all…! There are a lot of flaws and issues within the school system, and as a teacher of 7 years I’ve always got the idea in the back of my mind of home schooling my children one day… Main thing that holds me back is the friendships. Socialising, strong connections. Some of my best and funniest memories were from my school years and I still reminisce with my friends about school now at the age of 31. Most of my friends in my adult life are friends from school! School was a huge chapter and part of my life and really shaped me into who I am today. Looking back I’d never wish to be home schooled I loved my school years but I also know that isn’t the case for everyone. I also know how competitive further education, apprenticeships, internships, university placements are

You can join a homeschool co op so they are around other kids!

@Emma I completely see were u coming from & ur experience is valid. Bt even ppl who spend time in a structured school environment don’t end up being “disciplined” or “driven” spent my whole life in a structured school system cuz that type of environment & the education structure is what my parents wanted for us cuz they felt like it was “important” that we got to school bt I so wished I was homeschooled cuz maybe I would have thrived. Sometimes the grass isn’t greener on the other side, as some1 who went to school u didn’t miss out on much. I honestly wish I had the type of attachment u have to ur parents etc. as unhealthy as u might think it is, some of us wish we had that lol my parents just dumped us at school & they didn’t care abt what we were learning jus as long as they could say “my kids are in school & they are getting good grades” I literally hate waking up in the mornings cuz I forced to as a kid. It’s caused so much trauma. Ur so lucky u were homeschooled, wish that was me

I wholeheartedly agree with @Denise with the 1st comment! That pretty much sums it all up. Also school is supposed to be a place that is fun & fosters “thinking” & “learning” which requires, asking questions & critical thinking etc. bt a lot of times ppl don’t really get a chance to actually get an education in that environment; instead we go there to get used to being a part of this “system” which they call “the real world”. Getting ppl ready to be workers. So naturally we get used to 40hr works days Monday-Friday with only Saturday & Sunday as the only days of rest & the calendar we use with holidays that they make up for us so we keep buying things we don’t need. I like what @Victoria~ said “whether or not homeschooling will work depends on the child, the parent, and the curriculum” And that is pretty much true for any type Of schooling :) I’m glad that there are different types of schooling for different kids, parents & families. Learning & teaching doesn’t have to be done 1 way

@Jasmin I know it sounds like I was lucky, but I absolutely was not. My mom was not the type of person really cut out to homeschool, so when it got tough, she gave up and didn’t even try to put us in real school or anything, then they moved us to another country and it’s a long story, but I ended up being at a 5th grade level at the age of 18. At that point I was old enough to tell my parents I need a tutor so I can just get my GED at this point, so I did. All this to say that I was not lucky. I personally do know many people who did homeschool very well, because they were very invoked in their communities, extra curricular activities, social events, etc so they thrived, graduated early, got awesome degrees, published books, etc. So it can be great, but not everyone can do it

@Jasmin also, thank you for being very respectful and understanding with all of your responses! 😊

Its unfortunate you had a bad experience. Many states require standardized testing, portfolio reviews, quarterly reports, annual reports…unfortunately where you are in Alabama there’s no requirements. I’m an advocate for homeschool but also think parents should be held accountable. Thankfully, I’ve seen more talk in the media about the concerns/increasing the requirements for parents in multiple states @Emma

i agree 500% with what @Haley said & I too work in Education

@Melissa how so, i would want homeschool my daugther

@Denise yes! There desperately needs to be more law and rules around homeschooling. And I think above all else, it is vital for the parents to recognize if things really aren’t working at home, and to accept it and put the kids back in school if needed. So I think trying out homeschooling wouldn’t hurt anyone, so long as the parents aren’t dead set on it because it’s what THEY want and not because it’s what’s best for the kids

@Mary I think they are primarily advertised in Facebook groups. It's essentially like a bunch of moms who homeschool that come together and they take turn teaching different subjects and they get all of the kids together a couple days a week so that the kids still have that interaction. I'm not completely sure how it works as I am also looking into it for when my kids start school. He's only 16 months right now, but I am in a Mom walking group and they are all trying to start up a co-op for their kids. I think essentially you either create a curriculum or you buy one online and then you guys just do that as a group. If you have any like mom groups or anything, I would ask around also I'm not sure if every state has ECFE but that's a great resource to get connected with moms who do co-ops as well

@Melissa yes please ask around for me please

@Mary You have to look on your local fb groups! lol. Just look up homeschool co ops in the search bar!