Starting school has a whole new meaningFollow

I dpeed.

Edited, Sep 5th 2012 2:38pm by Elinda

No shit.

You obviously never met my wife.



There are a large number of different options. Various curriculum(s? how do I plural that?) are available for order. There are companies and non-profits who put together these teaching materials. Some tailor it to your state, and you can usually find things that help prepare you for the various standardized tests that are becoming the norm.



And we do too. One thing to consider would be putting the kids into the school system later. Another option is that many community colleges let kids take classes as early as 16.

Why not public school and fill in the gaps at home? Best of both worlds.

Not much of an answer, but a lot of times I think it comes down to simply feeling you can do better than that. Or think of it this way, if you're going to have to fill in the gaps anyway, why not just do it yourself?

They don't have like "build your own airplane" kits or anything either I suppose? Certainly it's not for everyone, but if you feel you have the appropriate skill set why not consider it?

I don't doubt this one bit.

I have to agree, lower levels sure, I could manage that no problem. Even most of the higher level stuff I could do. Something like grade 12 English I would have difficulty with. Not because I suck at English necessarily, I could understand and assign the work no problem, correct grammar etc, I just wouldn't have any frame of reference to grade an essay with. "Is this well written for grade 12 or do I need to nitpick?"

There's a big difference between understanding/applying knowledge and being able to effectively teach someone else that knowledge. I can understand/apply just about everything I come across with varying levels of effort but I couldn't teach someone else how to do that. Particularly if they don't think the way I do.

While I can definitely see the benefits of home school, you absolutely have to figure out a way to ensure your kids spend time with other children, and not just outside the classroom. I knew a few home-schooled kids in college, and they had absolutely no idea how to handle a classroom dynamic. The power play between students and the professor, reading the mood to know when it was and was not appropriate to ask a question, etc. Homeschooling often ends up as more of a conversation, which is super constructive, but totally different from normal lecture or discussion.

I don't know if this is a thing or not, but I remember there being one or two homeschooled kids in my school growing up. I distinctly remember one year where we had our specials lesson (language, art, computers, etc. depending on the day of the week), followed by lunch and then recess. One little boy whose name I completely forget would be there for those three periods, but for the rest of the day he was homeschooled.

Like I said, no clue if that's a viable option, either on your end or the school's, but it did (I imagine) ensure that he learned about classroom dynamics and actually interacted with the other kids, particularly since he was there for the lessons that were most commonly dependent on group work.

And I know some homeschooled kids came in after school for club activities when I was in high school.

Either way, definitely talk to the school and see what options are available, if any, for that kind of part-time inclusion. You might be able to strike a solid balance.

You both also probably want to be very proactive in the community, so they have the chance to make friends with other kids their age. That's one of the best aspects of schools for childhood development.

I think that the social interaction goes both ways though. While there's certainly the potential for a home schooled kid to miss out on some interaction skills, one of the core reasons parents tend to want to home school in the first place is to avoid the unwanted social interaction that occurs at many schools. That may result in a kid that other kids consider "weird", but a good portion of that weirdness will be that kid *not* joining in some social behaviors which may not necessarily be the best things to be doing in the first place.

As far as social interaction in general (and teaching specialties), in many communities there are organizations for home schooling, and parents interact and cooperate. Think of it as a school without a campus. They pool their resources and time and expertise. And the kids interact that way. It's not just one parent at home with one kid all the time.

We're having our 10 year reunion NEXT month!!