[sweater]

Hello Folks.

I have two boy's I would like to home school. And I've heard if children don't mingle with other children this could be a problem because of social skills. They are outgoing and I do not want to suppress them, but with the violence in today's schools I'm torn between the two. Ant input would be appreciated. Thank you.

[HollySat]

They are young so there shouldn't be too much violence in elementary but, if you live in a rough neighborhood that could be a different story. If you have the option to stay at home it sounds like you have some funds so, do you perhaps have the option of private school? Home schooling may be fine for awhile but, eventually they're going to have to interact - at the latest by college.

[ballengerb1]

You did not tell us why you want to consider home schooling. What is your background or experiences that would make you a good teacher of your children. Like in a public school, the experience can not be any better than the teacher.

[Alty]

My neighbor home schools. I'm in Canada though, so the info I'm about to give may not pertain to you.

When you home school in Canada there are "field trips" with other home schooled kids in your area. That way they get the interaction that they would normally be missing at a regular school.

The thing is, her kids are behind in everything, at this point, if they went back to regular school, they'd be placed 2 years behind their age group because they aren't at the level they should be at.

It depends on you, how much you're willing to do. It's not easy. My son has ADHD. I don't home school but because of his learning disability I do spend a lot of time with him on homework. I'd stab myself in the eye with a pencil if I had to do that all day.

What benefits do you think there are to home schooling? What disadvantages do you think there are? You need to make a list, determine what you think is the best choice.

[azdesertchick]

Hey there just wanted to add my two cents to the topic. I have two kids ages 15 and 11 and both were home schooled up until two years ago. It was a wondeful experience and although many are concerned about kids not being socialized some states are more homeschool friendly then others. This means depending on your state and area you may have a lot of programs open to your children if you decide to home school that are completely free and make it possible for your kids to socialize with other children and work in a classroom like setting.

Look we're all scared of the violence in today's society but it's everywhere and eventually your kids have to understand it's something they or someone they know are likely to either face it or hear about it hitting close to home. It's how you as mom or dad teach them about dealing with those situations that will impact them the most. I didn't home school out of fear although I understand it. I home schooled out of the desire to spend more time with my kids and share those moments and field trips to places like several museums, zoos, botanical gardens... and so on that they don't always get to do in school. I enjoyed it but as they got older I could see they wanted even more interaction than the play groups and so on so we placed them back in school and they love it!

I know this is long and drawn out a bit but it's a big decision if you do decide to look into it more I'd suggest contacting your local school district and see if they possibly have a distance learning program for your kids. I'm not sure if they offer it where you live but here in AZ. The district provides your child with a computer and the education prgram for at home but through the public school system and they assign your child a counselor that checks in on them to see how they're doing and if any helps needed. This may be great for a first time home schooling parent. I didn't use that but I know many others love this. Google home schooling topics in your state specifically and see what you find! Good luck to you! :)

P.S. Just wanted to note something.. I love teachers! My family has a long history of public school teachers and I support them in any way I can! Just wanted to say that too many who choose to home school do it out of a negative reaction from one teacher and I think that's unfair (so many teachers don't get paid enough money or respect!).. not that Sweater meant this at all it was just something I wanted to mention! :p

[Jillian11905]

That is a conversation my fiancé and I have on a regular basis about my son and our daughter. Here is my thing. Although there isn't violence in elementary there are still influences. I feel that homeschooled kids tend to make their own decisions vs doing what they see their peers doing. There are pro's and con's to everything. I say let them go to elementary and evaluate whether you think homeschool is good once they get ti middle school. I think that's when the problems REALLY start for kids. Bullying, Sex, Drugs, Violence.

I went to a performing arts school growing up all the way through 12th grade. I don't think things got complicated for me until I got to high school. They mixed us with regular school kids but we still had the magnet programs. That was then when I saw everything from Sex, to Drugs to Drinking, cutting class. So that's a hard one to ask but something to look into. Just weight your options. But honestly, I think I would like to either home school or send my kids to private or a performing arts school.

[eyes34_rp]

Home schooling is a big decision. My wife and I decided to home school our children for many reasons. We have thre ranging from 14 to 8. As far as your worry about socializing, It depends on how you handle it. We are regular church goers to a fairly large church in our community. Our knids have made friends with many of the kids in their Sunday school and kids church classes so they have interaction with quite a few kids on Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, and Wednesday evenings. We also got to know other families in our area who home school and schedule playdates, cookouts, and other get togethers. We have been fortunate enough to find what works best for us and our kids are now excelling beyond the state requirements. Our 9 year old is already working on Algebra that a 9th grader would normally do. Check out what your area has to offer. Best thing I can say is research, research, research before you make a decision.

[Kay33]

I am currently in home school. The lack of social interaction is not as bad as long as you stay involved in the community.

[artlady]

My eldest son was home schooled and he liked it my youngest did not so he went to public school.

Many communities have home schooling networks.

It is a good idea to get input from them,as you can also barter used books.etc.

They also have social events and some communities allow home schooled kids to participate in school sports!

In New York,you have to prove to the state that you are able to home school.

There is a lot of paperwork and you must comply with educational standards required by the state.

You also need to have your children periodically tested to insure they are learning the required material.

You must pay for the books and that can get pretty steep.That is where networking with other home schoolers is very helpful.

It is very challenging and you must be willing to put in at least three hours of work every day.

Preparing work,correcting,teaching and outdoor learning.

[Aaren92]

I'm in grade 12 right now, I was home schooled in grade 11 because of some reasons, but honestly you need to let them grow up, and go to a normal school, everybody deals with bullies, and everybody deals with drugs and alcohol use, it's up to them to decide how they want to live. If I did home school for my entire life I wouldn't be happy at all, I'm doing it for half a semester and I feel so sheltered, you have NO interaction with anybody at all, and I'm teaching myself because I'm an advanced student, I need a kinesiology course for grade 12 because my high school didn't have that option to take in high school which was pretty strange. But other than that, I strongly recommend that you don't put them in home school unless they really have to be put there, I know you may be trying to protect them from everything you think is bad, but it's your own experiences that make you the person you are, and if you trap your kids inside of a bubble in home school, they won't meet anybody, the only friends that I talk to I met because of my friends in elementary school leading into friendships in high school. I don't mean to come down on you at all, but I thought home school would be pretty cool, it's really not. All I'm saying is it's a great experience being in elementary school and high school, you learn a lot, develop great friendships, and relationships. I'm just letting you know through experience that it's much better to be with friends in school, and develop hobbies with them. I'm a kid, and I really don't think people should be home schooled at my age, I'm 16 and I'm only doing it for half a semester in high school and I hate it.

[babynology]

In my view home schooling is not as effective as regular schooling.From regular schooling children become more active, socialize, inculcating the habit of sharing, competing and learn more easily with friends or in groups.

[DoulaLC]

I have taught for a number of years and have seen students who had wonderful homeschooling experiences and others who did not. Much depends on the individuals involved.

What are the schools like that they would likely attend? Have you been to them, spoken to other parents, etc. How old are your sons? What are their thoughts on the matter? Do you know others in your area who homeschool? Have you looked into what it would take on your part to do the job well?

There are several organizations that can provide you with some of the basic information to determine if this is really something you will be able to commit to.

There are numerous ways for homeschooled children to socialize with others and you may have the option of combining the two... homeschooling part of the time and having them attend a public school as well.

[WiseOldUnicorn]

I was homeschooled all the way through high school, until I started college. Like others have said, the experience you have with homeschooling can vary hugely depending on the people involved. My personal experience is that it was great for me academically, but not so much socially.

Academically, I feel like I got a lot more out of school than I would have if I'd gone to public school. I liked the freedom of it. If I was, say, doing really well in English but really badly in math, it was a piece of cake for me to study English on one grade level and math on another. I got individualized attention, so if I was having trouble with something, I could stay on it for as long as I needed to figure it out and truly understand it. If we wanted to take a family vacation, we could do so whenever we wanted and make up the missed school later on. It was really great from a freedom standpoint (although there's a drawback to that as well--if your kids are TOO free, they might find it hard to adjust to college and work later in life). And there have been a lot of studies to show that homeschooled kids tend to do better on standardized tests.

Unfortunately, I do feel like my social life would have been a lot better if I'd gone to public school. I really didn't have much of a social life at all until I started college--and even now, I still feel more socially awkward than I think I would if I'd been more exposed to people. That's not all due to homeschooling, of course--I'm extremely shy by nature. But I do think I might have learned to deal with my shyness better and earlier if I hadn't been homeschooled. Of course, it doesn't HAVE to be that way. Like others have said, there's plenty of potential ways for kids to get social exposure even if they're homeschooled. My experience was just one that lacked that, and I can tell you that it DOES suck. A lot.

Just my two cents, as someone who's experienced it.