Alright, folks, lets get down and dirty. I've decided to home school Cameron and Ethan next year.
There are two reasons I decided to do this, and neither of them include a desire to turn my kids into reclusive freaks who have no social skills and go on to spawn inbred children in their adult years.
The first reason is that Cameron has focus issues, not ADD or ADHD, mind you... He just likes to think about what he wants to think about - not what you tell him to think about.
For a variety of reasons, Cameron is lacking a lot of crucial building blocks in his education and consequently has a shaky academic foundation. And in a school system where we spend a maximum of about three days on any topic and then move on, ready or not, poor fundamentals are not going to fly.
The second reason for this decision is that Andrew works Tuesday through Saturday, and for three years now we have not had a proper family day. Sure, there's Sunday, but we go to church for three hours and then do not do other things because we do, believe it or not, attempt to keep the Sabbath holy. My kids need more time with their dad. (And that right there could spark an entire dissertation on how I think a lot of society's trouble today is based on lack of family time, poor priorities, and absent fathers. But I will refrain in attempt to keep on subject.) So there you have it.
Currently, the plan is to do this for one year only, but we won't know that for certain until we've tried it.
I know a lot of you have adverse opinions about home schooling, but I have to say that no system is perfect. If you've ever stepped foot in a public school, you know there are pros and cons, and I expect the same from home school. But home school allows me to put my children's needs first with the proper pros and cons - if that makes any sense.
I have to do what is right for my kids, and Cameron needs to catch up before he becomes a lost cause. He is so smart, and I know that with some one-on-one instruction he can really blossom. We're going to work on those fundamentals that he is lacking, organization, how to take tests, focus, listening skills, and maybe even have time to get a jump start on fifth grade if we make it through the fourth grade curriculum early. (Which is entirely plausible when you consider the amount of time he'll get individual instruction compared to what he would get in public school.)
I will be spending a good part of the summer mapping out where our journey will take us. I have no intention of making this a "fly by the seat of my pants" kind of school. Utah law states that Cameron and Ethan must spend the same amount of time in school at home as they would in public school and that the same subjects must be covered. Utah also states that no one can ask for proof or records showing what we've done. I will be keeping records anyway, for my own use and to cover my butt. It will not be an easy road and there will likely be a lot of trial and error involved. I'm ready for it.
If you have any questions or thoughts, please feel free to leave them in the comments section. Unless they are rude and then you can keep them to yourself and have a lovely day!
(Also, if you found any misspelled words here or poor grammar, etc., you go ahead and think that I have no place teaching my kids because I'll mess them up entirely. It'll make you feel better to just let yourself go there. Thanks!)
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6 comments:
The only thing I will say is that there are many internet based home school academys that are designed to let you go at your own pace, do your own thing and have resources built in when you as a parent get into a jam. I would hate to see you "re-invent" the wheel when there are so many resources available to you. We use K-12 which is endorced by Dr. William Bennett. (Look it up) Most states also provide for "free" text books, supplies and even computers. This is treated kind of like a charter school. It would atleast help you with some outlines as far as you want to go with it - no specific requirements. My children have definately benefited from the home schooling experience and my highschooler has definately blended back into society very well. Good luck, and happy learning! David Kestner
Hmm. Last semester Briana and I may or may not have roomed with someone who, may or may not, along with her mother, believed themselves to be superior beings because they homeschooled. They were also convinced that everyone else hated them for their education choices, and that they alone stood boldly in the truth. It also may or may not have driven Briana and I both insane, especially since we both had had some form or another of homeschooling at one time. Seriously, our roomie yakked about being a "homeschooler" (co-op clogger, chess player, proud geek) so much, that apparently I thought it was alright to make some off-hand remark about her being a homeschooler, with an element of teasing to it, (I don't remember) and then, like a grown-up, she told her mother about it (as opposed to telling me about it), and for the rest of the semester the woman (her mom) refused to like me and wouldn't add me as a Facebook friend. Yes, I know. BURN. Even when I sent her messages mentioning my mother's experience teaching special ed homeschool in Europe, links to TED.com videos describing the horrors of public school, Pablo Picasso quotes on children and creativity, and generally pleading for forgiveness, it was too late. The woman hated me. Possibly because my E-mails had too much creativity than she thought any public schooler should have (and indeed, several thousand less grammatical errors than both her and roomie.) Also she doesn't make friends with people who don't believe that Obama is literally the anti-Christ in dapper African form. Despite the fact that meanwhile, in my pathetic need to believe myself to be a "good roommate", I was forever bringing her daughter truffles, putting up with her incessant nocturnal farting (not without comment though), generally we were great friends... but alas, the mother had heard her daughter (dagger in my back!) complain over the phone that I had forgotten to unplug the hair dryer ONE TOO MANY TIMES....... In my opinion, as long as a repeat of that story is not in your future, you are golden.
I think it's great. If I can homeschool (I was lousy, due to the fact that you have to have a good regimented routine) then anyone can. It was absolutely the best thing I could have done for Hunter and me. Scholastically we just barely stayed ahead of what he would have learned at school but the leaps we made in teaching learning techniques and skills were huge. That was the year he learned to love to read and realized that its important that people are able to read what he writes. (He couldn't even read his own writing) Anyway he learned a lot and I really struggled with wether or not to send him back into public school but another one of his problems was Interacting with adults who tell him what to do. I figured he had to learn how to do that before he becomes an adult and works for a boss. After two years of middle school he is still working on that. At least his goals now are mission, college and then the army in that order.
You do what you need to! I just may end up doing it again with some of my other children. (Aiden just asked a couple of months ago) I was amazed at how much I didn't know about Hunter until I home schooled so enjoy.
By the way, her mom was often at our apartment or whatever, I don't mean I was trying to get a distant stranger to approve of me...
Good luck with the homeschooling!
Good for you. There are SO many families in the Air Force who home school, and I am completely amazed that they can do it. I am sure you will do a fabulous job. Good luck!
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