Anyone Homeschool? | General Homesteading Discussion | Forums

We have been in almost every situation possible with schooling so far... best district in the state, poor district that is closing schools, cyber school etc... I don't think there is any one answer that is the best. There are positives and negatives to each. Both my kids are elementary school age, so I'm sure it's different as they get older, but we are currently struggling through the public school system, while supplementing on the side.

I'd be happy to go into details on one or any of our experiences if you'd like.

We've homeschooled probably about 23 years now (my oldest is 29 and I pulled her out in 1st grade.) We have probably tried every method of homeschooling. We are foster parents and adopted a few children, and homeschooled them. I really think with all the problems they had in school (behavioral and academically) homeschooling was best. It is NOT easy...personally I am very burnt out right now (just started homeschooling my granddkids this year) but we keep plugging away.

You have to really think about what you want for your children. Homeschool kids most always score above the national average. But there are trade-offs...after we moved to WV and ended up with no neighbors, my kids felt more alone. We moved from CA where there were lots of kids to play with after school. We are currently part of a very active homeschool group, and the grandkids love it. We meet weekly and cover some awesome things...field trips, art classes, science experiments, PE,...we even have a 4H group.

I think the best part of it is the closeness you end up with in your family. All 4 of my biological children are extremely close and 2 of the adopted children too. I think after losing my son, this is partly why we are still all grieving so much, because for most of his life he was with us all day every day. This just isn't what the world considers "normal"...but think about it...forced public education hasn't been around all that long...maybe 150 years at the most? For thousands of years before, being home was the norm. A family learning, growing, helping each other, participating in building, raising, growing a farm or business together. Even after marriage, the couple usually moved in with either the groom's family or the brides and kept going.

Anyhow, I'd be glad to answer questions. We are currently using Calvert, only because as I said, I'm just worn out, and Calvert comes with everything you need including lesson plans, etc. But you can do it with a library card and the internet is a great source.