WAIT...what? Your tree's don't supply you with endless amounts of money. Don't worry! I just jotted down that I have got to write a blog about where I get my money tree seeds from. For those interested don't hold your breath though...I can't see a dinky blog about money trees bringing many readers so I will probably never get to it.
So, when did homeschooling become the "IN" thing to do? Seriously, I met a few people in Buffalo who home schooled but it seems like it is an epidemic in the midwest! Now, I am sure there are many readers out there that wouldn't even give homeschooling a second thought. I mean, I know. I was one of those people. Before I got pregnant, I was never going to breastfeed. I mean, why bother when there is formula right? Well after some research, and some help from support groups and lactation consultants, I exclusively nursed my first child for 11.5 months and plan to nurse the second for longer if possible! It was one of the greatest experiences of my life and I am so happy I was open minded about it. Then the minivan. Friends and family probably have plaques on their walls about how I would rather "insert horrible morbid comment here" than drive a minivan. Guess what? My husband and I now have a minivan and love it! Bottomline...everything changes when you become a parent...especially your opinions about being a parent since you have no idea what you are talking about until you deal with the little hellions yourself. It's fun looking in from the outside and judging...but then it happens to you...and you realize that person you were judging was actually doing a great job!
So...back to my original subject...homeschooling. Sorry for the ADD folks. I just wanted to jot down some pros and cons that I can see. I am of course an outsider so any homeschooling moms out there I would love your input! These are just a few pros and cons that I have jotted down and I plan to write a follow-up on them. I just wanted to see what input I received first before I dove directly into a heaping pile of you don't know what you are talking about.
Pros:
- Spending Time with your kids
- One on one attention -Even if you have 7 kids, that's a 7:1 ratio!
- No Bullying
- You can actually control what goes in your kids food...for real
- You can go on vacation anytime
- Cheaper than Private school!!
- Socialization
- Different Perspectives
- The teacher (parent) has to be disciplined and very organized
- Learning to deal with different personalities and difficult situations
- How broad will the curriculum be?
- What if you're not a teacher??
Posts
I haven't got it all figured out myself, but home school kids are socialized through the home school association they belong to and through events and field trips. I guess not all home schooling parents belong to one, but I hear they can be very helpful. I read this amazing blog post on the myths of home schooling, if I can find the link I will post it. It talks about how kids really are not socialized in school and how they are actually taught to conform and what not. It was an interesting perspective.
ReplyDeleteCarol, Michelle Duggar actually said almost the same thing you did. She was on one of the morning shows and someone was asking about her homeschooling methods and about her kids being properly socialized. She said something along the lines of kids in public school sitting in their seats all day who would get in trouble if they talked in school. She was like...how is that socialization.
ReplyDeleteI think she is onto something there. I used to just "socialize" during lunch and recess. There are other factors too though. One thing I am not comfortable with is my child only learning my POV. I think it is important for a child to learn from multiple people since they will deal with multiple people and personalities later in life. I think it helps broaden their horizons.
I think if I were more disciplined and organized I would definitely consider it and just have Kayleigh enrolled in language classes or something. It is an option and if the parent can handle it probably a very good one. Forward me the link when you get a chance!
I wasn't able to figure out where I bookmarked it. I checked all three browsers I use, but I might have deleted it in my last clean up. I think one thing you can do is join an association that splits up the learning. There is one I read about where a bunch of teachers decided to teach their own and they would go to a different house each day for lessons. One was a math teacher, art teacher and so on :)
ReplyDelete