home schooling?

[mdutka]

the thread about montessori made me think of this.
i went to public school and my husband went to private school and public school. i plan on home schooling my son. i used to be way against it but ive since met a few mothers with amazing children who are home schooled. and it doesnt make sense to me that my kid should spend 5 hours at school and come home with 3 hours of homework. i think that teachers do the best they can with what they have but its just not good enough. plus children are just not emotionally capable of dealing with the garbage they are faced with at school nowadays. if i could afford private school i might consider it but i probably wont send him anywhere. of course if you home school you have to be careful to replace the social aspect but thankfully i know tons of people with children my sons age.
does anyone else have experience with home schooling?

[Kate]

I don't have experience with home schooling, I went to a public school my whole life and I don't have any children of my own. But I am thinking of home schooling my children (or getting my fiance, who will hopefully be my husband by then, to do it).

But I'm not just making this decision because of class sizes, but because of the teachers. My fiance went to Laurier, the school that pumps out most of Ontario's teachers (they have an agreement with Nipising), and I don't want those people teaching my children. Ever. Pretty much everyone I met who was going to be a teacher was as dumb as a brick.

So if I do send my children to a public school I am going to be very, very involved. And I'm going to ask where the teacher went to school. And if they went to Laurier my child is not going to be in their class.

[spring90]

My Mom has 13/14 years of homeschooling, with all her 4 kids... If I were in school I would be in grade 12, and I've never been to school a day in my life.

Homeschooling is really good, If your kids wanna learn about something one day, they can just go ahead and learn it and not have to worry about not learning what was all planned out for them, And sometimes the stuff in school is going to be useless to kids when they get out of school (mostly when you get up to high school)

On the social aspect as well - Homeschooling is really great for that, because kids aren't spending so much time a day with just kids they're age - I spend most of my time with my sister who's 2 years younger than me, my other sister that's 10 years younger than me, as well as my mother and father. It's really great because I have no problems talking to adults, kids older than me, younger than me, anyone. Actually out of the homeschoolers that I've met here so far (we just moved a few months ago), I spent a lot of time talking to a girl who was homeschooled that's 3-4 years younger than me, and the age difference wasn't really something I noticed (With kids that go to school it's always 'oh, you're not as old as us so you're not cool/we can't talk to you', etc)

Another thing you can do is find a homeschooling group in your area, so you can talk to other homeschoolers, and a lot of the time they go on field trips (I went to one at the newspaper a couple years ago), and it's always really fun

[Julie Andrews]

I am going to use homeschooling as a last option for baby J. If he has problems integrating into a regular classroom I'll pull him out and teach him myself. I hope he does well in the classroom environment though... I would like to be able to work even part time while he's in school or go to school myself.

Regardless of if he's in a regular school or not, I'll be teaching him things about his own cultural background. I want him to know all about where his Mom & Dad are from and the rich heritage that he has.

[Tansy]

I did homeschooling for my two and other children who's parents were fed up with the school system for 3 years.
You would be amazed at the arguements you get from the school you take them out of. (If they were already in public/private school to begin with.) I had one principal tell me that it was 'illegal', and they would report me. I sent them some forms I got from the internet citing my Canadian rights basically to the effect of 'leave me alone or I'm suing you for a whole lot of money'. I have a lovely framed letter of apology from said district. The Canadian Laws state that we as parents have the right to school our children as *we see fit*. AND the govermnent has to pay for it too. So if you are going to homeschool save those reciepts! You get 100% of your money back. Pencils, paper, books, charts, EVERYTHING.
The schools just want your tax dollars is all. They get awfully antsy when you tell them to 'bite my rosy red @#$'. (I am the calmest person you've ever met until you mess with my kids...)
When I put my two back into school they had another field day testing them to see 'what needed to be revised in their learning'. (Aka 'we think you couldn't have possibly done as good as a job as we do so we want to see how dumb your kids are'.) And what happened?
They offered to skip them. My son was in grade 4 reading at a grade 9 level, doing grade 7 mathematics. My daughter was in grade 1 reading at a grade 4 level, doing grade 2 mathematics.
And the other two I schooled had the same result. One was a 'problem child' who was failing miserably. After one year of homeschooling his grades went throught the roof.
Because I had *time* for him. All the time he needed.

Okay.. this is a subject that gets me babbling...
*stepping down from the soapbox...*
:D

[bcteagirl]

Great Post Tansy... tried to give you a rep but apparently I need to spread it around first.. I love hearing about the logisitics of it (The traps they try to set and how you get around them) so that was helpful.

[mdutka]

You would be amazed at the arguements you get from the school you take them out of. (If they were already in public/private school to begin with.) I had one principal tell me that it was 'illegal', and they would report me.

i was told that in my area public schools get as much as $1500 per student per year (no wonder they want your kid there!).
the best way to do it is not even put your kid in school to begin with (if you plan on homeschooling) that way they dont even know you exist.

[Tansy]

i was told that in my area public schools get as much as $1500 per student per year (no wonder they want your kid there!).
the best way to do it is not even put your kid in school to begin with (if you plan on homeschooling) that way they dont even know you exist.

It doesn't really matter anyhow. It's all empty fluff. Some of them probably beleive it, and think that it's their 'right' somehow to school you child. But it's not and even if they did try to do anything they'd realize awfully quickly that there's nothing they can do about it anyhow.
I was a part of the Unschooler's Association in the Toronto area and there's *tons* of stories out there of schools saying things like that to people/threatening. But it's all crud. All they can do is threaten. Doesn't mean anything.

[nbyd]

just wanted to let other homeschoolers know of a sports drop in program i have been running since jan of this year...copy of ad i have been using is below...pm me if what more info...

Hello fellow Homeschooling Parent(s),

Join us Wednesday mornings starting September 22nd 2010 for the Homeschool Sports Drop-In at the Centennial Community Centre, Markham.


Details:

Date: Wednesdays 9:30am to 11:00am
Ages: 8 to 18 years of age only
Cost: $5 per family per week (max of 4 people per family) , due & payable each week
Registration Fee: None
Location: Centennial Community Centre, 8600 McCowan Rd., Markham

The community centre provides instructors to help with organized sports each week...such as basketball, soccer, volleyball & others as
requested...suggestions are taken from the kids each week.

Rules of this group and the Facility:

- ALL children must be accompanied by a parent/legal guardian at all times while in the facility.
- Children are not permitted to enter the gym until their parent/legal guardian is present, has signed them in & has paid the weekly dues.
- Parents/guardians mustremain on site, and in the seating area in front of the gym at all times.
- Parents needing to leave for whatever reason (except for a bathroom break) must withdraw their child/ren from the program and take them with them for the duration of their absence.

There is no pre-registration for drop-in. We operate on a first come, first served basis only. No Exceptions.
(Max # of participants allowed each week is 40)
Food & drinks are not permitted in the gym.
Proof of age may be required.

Following these rules allows for the program to not only run smoothly, it also shows the facility we are a responsible group. Which in turn will encourage them to invite us back & continue supporting Homeschooling families in the community.

Have a great week everyone.

Please contact me directly if you have any questions. Do NOT contact the facility.

Sincerely,
Amanda

[Zedgirl76]

I have considered home schooling, and it is a wonderful option, since I do know several families who have home schooled their children with awesome results - all the ones I know of go on to University and have a well-rounded knowledge about life. After much thought, I decided to enroll my kids in French immersion, which has been great so far. If it weren't for this option, I would have given home schooling a try. With our work schedules, it's nearly impossible to consider home schooling, and from what I've heard about private schooling (not that I can afford it), it's not necessarily a big advantage over public schooling (this depends on the private school though).

I went to public school, and was involved in a lot of extracirrucular activities and learned more than one language - as long as your kids are involved in many things, it's good for them, keeps them busy, out of trouble and helps them develop a variety of skills whether they're homeschooled or not

[Insane]

Homeschooling can be a great thing for many families-IF done right. Join homeschooling organizations for support. I think it's important to do your research before hand.

[amandamck]

I don't have experience with home schooling, I went to a public school my whole life and I don't have any children of my own. But I am thinking of home schooling my children (or getting my fiance, who will hopefully be my husband by then, to do it).

But I'm not just making this decision because of class sizes, but because of the teachers. My fiance went to Laurier, the school that pumps out most of Ontario's teachers (they have an agreement with Nipising), and I don't want those people teaching my children. Ever. Pretty much everyone I met who was going to be a teacher was as dumb as a brick.

So if I do send my children to a public school I am going to be very, very involved. And I'm going to ask where the teacher went to school. And if they went to Laurier my child is not going to be in their class.

I went to Laurier and so did my sister, thanks for your kind comments

[mwieler]

I was thinking of homeschooling,but I just don't seem to have the patience for it. We took our son out of public school and now send him to a private school, they only have 23 kids there. Our son likes it and we really like it too.The teachers can spend more time with one child,therefor he's learning much better now.
Our BIGGEST issue with public school is they now teach kids as early as kindergarden that it's o.k. to be gay. As well as all the drug problems,kids in grades 5 & 6 are already hooked on drugs.
Come On! These are 5 year olds,they don't need to learn that kinda garbage!
(Personal Opinions)

[Katyana08]

Our BIGGEST issue with public school is they now teach kids as early as kindergarden that it's o.k. to be gay. [...]
Come On! These are 5 year olds,they don't need to learn that kinda garbage!
(Personal Opinions)

They likely do that because a lot of gay/bisexual people often know there is something "different" about them when they are children, and it could save a lot of heartache if they had a name for how they felt.

[spikewillsonn]

Home schooling is a good idea so that you can keep watch and take utmost care of all the aspects of teaching. You can prevent overload of homework and also test your child for his interests in other activities such as drawing, painting, gardening, sports, etc. This will help improve both physical and mental ability to become a professional person in the field of his choice. Also try to keep your child in touch with outside world by encouraging him to make friends by participating in competitions and other social events.