Why Homeschool? Should You Homeschool?
Have you been considering homeschooling? Should you homeschool? Is homeschooling bad or good? Why homeschool? Have you considered free online public school? It's completely free and totally easy! We struggled with the decision whether or not to homeschool. Then, I saw a commercial on television for Connections Academy, so we did that for awhile and then we used what we learned to do homeschool on our own. Enjoy! |
| With Online Homeschool, there is plenty of time for field trips and extracurricular learning. We visited an orchard and picked beautiful blue plums off the tree. |
Why did I choose to homeschool?
Why homeschool? There are so many things about public brick and mortar school I detest and dread. I hated the mean-spirited shaming I witnessed from one avid church-goer when my son mentioned he didn't really go/like to go church. It's true, he went sometimes, but I left him home with Daddy a lot (Daddy retired from church). This strikes me as ironic, because stereotypically many people believe "church people" or "religious extremists" homeschool.I go to church when the whim strikes me. I'm a bleeding heart, stuck somewhere between hippies and devout Christians. I guess, the remark hurt my feelings too.
I hated the complaints from my daughter of how much she hated recess. "There is nothing to do, no one to play with, and the teachers won't let me sit on the blacktop" Ah... memories. In early elementary, I walked around the edge of the blacktop waiting for the teacher to blow the whistle.
I hated picking my son up nearly every other day after lunch, because he had something with milk or dairy in it. I even had a note from the doctor, apparently, state law requires milk must be placed on EVERY child's tray! I sent in alternative beverages, but "Mommy, I just took a little sip of chocolate milk!"
He'd have an asthmatic reaction, go to the nurse for his inhaler, and then... And then... poor nurse. Let's just say, it came out both ends.
Number one, the school bus! I hated leaving the safety of my kids to another person- someone I didn't know, no seatbelts on the bus, bullies on the bus, other dangerous drivers, etc. Just pulling into our neighborhood was a deathtrap. Waiting for the bus with the middle schoolers outside was too traumatic for Mommy. Well, it didn't seem right to me; my kids were just newly 5 when they started school.
They begged to ride the bus. I let my son ride a few times. The neighbor child had some problems. He was sort of a bully, but he was also bullied by the older kids. The nice, old man bus driver had him sit up front with my little one. My son came home with lots of amazing new life lessons.
Then, the kid started causing trouble. The bus driver would pull over and wait it out. So, the bus was often late. No, thank you, we started driving the kids to school permanently once my daughter hit all-day kindergarten. She's a handful. I can't imagine she'd stay in her seat without a seatbelt. I didn't think the sweet, old man needed the added stress.
I'd pick the kids up from school, have an after-school snack, try to squeeze in a little outdoor playtime, then it was time to make supper, get baths, do homework, and go to bed.
Impossible.
I hated the homework! We'd be up late finishing projects for first and second grade!
My son is gifted. We looked forward to a special program at the school, but it didn't start until third grade. In the meantime, he was placed in a class with high ability learners. Even so, the teacher felt there were problems. He understood concepts in ways other second graders couldn't- which led to arguments and frustrations. Since, we were planning to move, the teacher wondered if online school might work for him. This way, he could work at his own pace. I wasn't sold on the idea until...
The second lockdown at school. That's right, second. I shrugged off the first one. The second one was for the same reason, a bank robber near the school grounds and shots fired. I tried to get in the car line to pick up the kids, but the road was blocked by police cars. I called a friend, Angie, she arrived a few minutes prior to me. She was told to get out of her car and head to them gym for safety.
Yep, I was a mess.
BUT... I can't homeschool. I don't have the patience. I'm not disciplined enough. My kids need socialization. I don't want other people to think we're freaks.
WHATEVER.
It's just not like that anymore. I CAN (of course I can). We actually had LESS busy bookwork than regular school. The kids had online live lessons with their teachers and classmates. The teachers checked in regularly with emails and phone calls. As a learning coach, I was a big part of my kids academic experience, but not the teacher. So, I didn't have to worry about making major mistakes.
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| Indiana Connections Academy, Free School Online! |
We homeschooled through INCA or Indiana Connections Academy. The supplies are completely free! This includes all textbooks, science supplies, art supplies, and companion DVD's and CDRom's for the online classes.
They took required state standardized tests in an university classroom. There are school sponsored field trips and local group gatherings. We met up with a local group of homeschoolers outside of INCA for recreation or SOCIALIZATION.
Yep, next to giving birth... homeschooling is the best idea I've ever had. I have more time to spend with my kids, hone my novel writing skills, and work as a freelancer.
In case you're wondering, my kids were offered the opportunity to attend regular school year. They both declined with a resounding, "No way!"
Now, that we are experienced homeschoolers, we go it alone! I create online lessons and share them here on the blog. The kids do math with Kahn Academy, and we supplement with Brainpop. We love homeschooling.
We get up when we want, go to bed when we want, study what we want, and have the freedom to supplement with field trips whenever we want. We are members of several clubs for homeschoolers and meet up with our friends at least once per week.
Recommended Reading:
Homeschooling 101: A Guide to Getting Started.
*The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas
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