Homeschooling/Unschooling?

[Mickey]

Anyone do either? What's the difference between the two? How did you get the guts to jump in there and just do it if you aren't already a teacher? How do you know they are learning what they need to learn?

With all the problems I'm having with ds and school, I've been seriously thinking about homeschooling, but I just don't know if I'm capable of teaching him all he needs to know. Not sure if I'm organized enough...I'm not a very scheduled person generally speaking--although I can be if I set my mind to it.

Any thoughts on this will be greatly appreciated!

[kacee]

I do have several friends who homeschool. The one input that I wanted to state is that one of my friends pulled her dd out of 6th grade. She went to the principle and asked her about homeschooling. (There was an incident that require quick withdrawl, she hadn't been planning this.) Anyway the principle told her that if she were to keep her dd with her and live life experiences (grocery store, post office, etc.) that in two years her dd will still be able to enter the 8th grade with no problems. I was shocked to hear this, but I guess public school does not expect much from students. I have heard that Public school teaches to the lower levels.


I know that I have not been much help here. Good Luck with your research.

[AnnW]

Kacee...I think it really depends on the public school. My kids' school is doing the same cirriculum that the private school I almost sent them to is....

[Mickey]

Thank you for your reply, Kacee! And that is so disheartening. I imagine that it would vary from school district to school district, but I think it's pitiful that there are probably many schools out there to which this really applies.

[Kim]

We are homeschooling our kids. So much of this just depends on what descriptions you use for homeschooling/unschooling. I think that homeschooling tends to have more structure to it. There are people who homeschool who are very book/paper/pen and others who do more unit studies. Then there are literature based programs (like Sonlight) which is what we use. Then there are unschoolers who are probably way more structured than other unschoolers who tend to follow child led learning. Therefore if your child shows an interest in bugs, space, the ocean, history, whatever you tend to spend lots of time studying those things. Unschoolers don't use any set curriculum and kids spend alot of time exploring and learning on their own with parents providing the time and resources to help them discover. It is my personal opinion that perhaps a meshing of all techniques works best, with my kids anyways. We are just officially getting started, but I've spent the better part of the last 5 years reading, reading, reading about homeschooling. A couple of books that I would recommend are
The Educated Child by William J. Bennett
Discover your child's learning style by Mariaemma
Willis and Victoria Kindle Hodson
The Homeschooling Handbook by Mary Griffith
and my personal favorite as of yet was
A Patchwork of Days and I'm sorry I don't have the author on hand my mil borrowed the book. This one was cool, because I always thought it would be neat to be a fly on the wall of homeschoolers homes to see how their days went and this shows you 30 some different families days of homeschooling. It shows how varied this world can be and still be successful. Let me know if I can be of any help.

[arianna]

MM! Sorry to hear about hard school times Mickey.
There are so many different approaches to homeschooling. You CAN provide a very extensive education for your son by homeschooling.
First thought you need to check with the law in your state and make sure you meet the requirements. You can do this by visiting the HSDL at http://www.hslda.org/

Next look for support groups in your area. Whether you join a group or not is up to you, but wading your way through the different approaches to homeschooling can be confusing. You can find local groups through the HSDL too.

It's nearing the end of the school year. The homeschoolers are having their annual book fairs now so this would be an ideal time to check out the many resources that are available to you as well. You can buy new and used books and materials at these fairs. It's a lot of fun and a great way to network. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

You can also visit your local teachers store for lots of ideas and books as well.

I have 2 homeschool sections on my web site. Feel free to check them out.
http://geocities.com/ariannapr1/

[Mickey]

Thank you both ever so much! So it's not as scary as it seems? What a huge responsibility! Seems overwhelming right now, but I guess it's not so bad once you jump in?

I did find a local homeschooling support group online. They have an e-mail loop and you can e-mail asking for input on units or arrange field trips with others. If I end up doing this, I'll definitely join!

Kim, I'll check out the books you recommended at Amazon and have a flip through them next time I'm at the bookstore. The Patchwork of Days sounds especially interesting!

Going to check out your website, too, Ari! Might e-mail you with questions, if that's ok.

Thanks again, guys! I really appreciate your suggestions and input!
:)
Mickey