I'm a homeschooling mom AMA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are you teaching your children, and at what ages/levels, about the history of race and racism in the United States?

A lot. For one, I am not white. I am native. They know A LOT about native history in this country, particularly (of course) about the experiences of our tribe.

Then, my husband is an immigrant who grew up in desolate poverty (outhouse, no shoes, one shirt, eating rotting meat, the whole 9 yards), so they no what it means to struggle.

They also have friends from all backgrounds and races, as do my husband and me.

We also read a variety of books about characters of all races and understand on an elementary school level slavery and the racism that that resulted. We have also discussed how things have gotten better and how they have stayed the same.

They also learn a truly global history. In other words, we discuss the advancements and civilization of the Aksum Empire at the same time as the Roman/Byzantine Empire at the same time as the Mayans. Mali is then discussed alongside feudalism, the samurai, and Aztecs. Europe is not viewed through an isolated lens. In a classical curriculum, you study history in four year cycles of Ancients, Medieval, Early Modern, Modern and you look at what happens around the world during those time periods.

Do you have curriculum recommendations for this content? I have a 2e kid I may need to homeschool due to terrible local school services.

Thanks for doing this AMA!

[Anonymous]

What colleges are you thinking about for your kids?

[Anonymous]

Have you considered enrolling in community college classes for high school topics? Is that an option where you are?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. What's your plan when they finish high school? If college is in the cards, how do you thikn they will adjust?

2. What's the nuttiest family you've run in to at one of the co-op events? Or just tell us some interesting stories about the other homeschoolers you meet at co-op.

My plan is for them to attend college/university, as my husband and I are both educated. If they came to us in high school and expressed interested in pursuing an alternate career path, such as (IDK, just totally making something up here) going to culinary school to open a catering business), I would have a sit down conversation with them about their goals, projected income, quality of life, etc and help them plot the best path to achieve their goals while maintaining security. I imagine most other educated families would have similar plans.

I think they will adjust just fine-- they are in a classroom environment for co-op, learn from other people at co-op and through community activities, and by high school I plan on them taking plenty of courses from other people-- either online classes or community college classes, or local co-op classes from experts (I know a few PhDs and master's degree people who sometimes teach a homeschool class on the side for a little extra income).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. What's your plan when they finish high school? If college is in the cards, how do you thikn they will adjust?

2. What's the nuttiest family you've run in to at one of the co-op events? Or just tell us some interesting stories about the other homeschoolers you meet at co-op.

My plan is for them to attend college/university, as my husband and I are both educated. If they came to us in high school and expressed interested in pursuing an alternate career path, such as (IDK, just totally making something up here) going to culinary school to open a catering business), I would have a sit down conversation with them about their goals, projected income, quality of life, etc and help them plot the best path to achieve their goals while maintaining security. I imagine most other educated families would have similar plans.

I think they will adjust just fine-- they are in a classroom environment for co-op, learn from other people at co-op and through community activities, and by high school I plan on them taking plenty of courses from other people-- either online classes or community college classes, or local co-op classes from experts (I know a few PhDs and master's degree people who sometimes teach a homeschool class on the side for a little extra income).

Whoops, missed the second part of your question, sorry.

Nuttiest family? Hmm.

To be honest, not many. I live in an educated area and many of the people in our local homeschooling community have relatively similar views on things as I do (differing here and there, of course). I have encountered some people who don't spend as much effort in keeping their kids in a co-op, so those kids have little experience with other people as teachers, etc. That is really the worst I have seen. But, those families also had younger kids, so they have plenty of time to correct that as the kids get older.

Online, I have seen some people who are much more isolated or wayyy more confident in their ability to teach kids through high school than I am.

Overall, at least in the classical curriculum sector, it appears to be more balanced than people realize. Most parents I encounter are genuinely interested in giving their children the best education possible and do what they can to make that happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not know how common this is, but the one family I know is somewhat abusive to their kids. They beat their kids for small infractions, speak only bonce, do not really care about their needs. The parents are also not educated beyond high school.
Daughters are being raised to be housewives
Kids do a ton of chores, do not really know people their age, dress different from other young people, are not exposed to much. Parents control tv, internet, sensor teen magazines

I have not encountered this personally, mostly just heard these types of stories either on the news or on reddit.

As I said in response to an earlier question from someone asking about a subreddit where abusive or neglectful homeschooling situations are discussed:
I definitely agree that homeschooling can be a cover for abusive parents. That is why I don't really agree with states who have no regulations for homeschoolers and think that some type of regulation-- such as a portfolio review-- is reasonable.

Something I didn't say before is that I also think that a law mandating that all children are seen by a mandatory reporter at least 1 time per year (such as a doctor, dentist, etc) is fine to ensure that there are other adults who see the children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What colleges are you thinking about for your kids?

Too early to tell, they are still in elementary school. I will look at schools with them when they start to form ideas about what they might want to do as an adult, their strengths, etc.

They do well academically, however, and would like to see them attend competitive colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. What's your plan when they finish high school? If college is in the cards, how do you thikn they will adjust?

2. What's the nuttiest family you've run in to at one of the co-op events? Or just tell us some interesting stories about the other homeschoolers you meet at co-op.

Dp who is a secular homeschooler. Look up radical unschoolers and game schoolers. Sometimes I think these people must be sitting on extreme wealth because they sure as sh!t aren't teaching their kids the 3 R's.

OP here, haha yeah I admit as a classical homeschooler who follows a pretty structured curriculum, I confess to not really understanding radical unschoolers. I think the idea sounds appealing and if the parents work REALLY REALLY hard they might be able to make it work for elementary school, but by late elementary school/middle school-- kids need more structure to ensure they are learning all the subjects they need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you considered enrolling in community college classes for high school topics? Is that an option where you are?

It is and it is definitely one of the options we are examining when they get that old. I fully admit that I would not be able to teach a full high school level class load on my own and will be using professionals (in the community, online, and at community colleges) to help ensure that my kids get a good education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are you teaching your children, and at what ages/levels, about the history of race and racism in the United States?

A lot. For one, I am not white. I am native. They know A LOT about native history in this country, particularly (of course) about the experiences of our tribe.

Then, my husband is an immigrant who grew up in desolate poverty (outhouse, no shoes, one shirt, eating rotting meat, the whole 9 yards), so they no what it means to struggle.

They also have friends from all backgrounds and races, as do my husband and me.

We also read a variety of books about characters of all races and understand on an elementary school level slavery and the racism that that resulted. We have also discussed how things have gotten better and how they have stayed the same.

They also learn a truly global history. In other words, we discuss the advancements and civilization of the Aksum Empire at the same time as the Roman/Byzantine Empire at the same time as the Mayans. Mali is then discussed alongside feudalism, the samurai, and Aztecs. Europe is not viewed through an isolated lens. In a classical curriculum, you study history in four year cycles of Ancients, Medieval, Early Modern, Modern and you look at what happens around the world during those time periods.

Do you have curriculum recommendations for this content? I have a 2e kid I may need to homeschool due to terrible local school services.

Thanks for doing this AMA!

I admit that for the past few years I have been mostly piecing things together myself using the Usborne Book of World History as a spine and then checking a lot of books out of the library to cover the topics covered on each page, carefully balancing the different areas of the world myself.

This past year I have been closely looking at REAL History Odyssey to see if it might fit our needs and make things a little easier on me. I use their science curriculum and really like it, so I am hoping their history is good, too.

[Anonymous]

Did you get a complete neuropsych completed on your 2e dc?

I ask because sometimes an LD can look like adhd and I’ve seen homeschoolers just ignore the LD like it doesn’t matter. “He can’t write so we just don’t have him write, but he reads at a college level” or “he can’t read but he can do algebra so we just read the problems to him”. The wheels come off by high school. You cannot just ignore weaknesses and obsess over strengths.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you homeschooling your children?

+1

OP here

We started because we lived in an area with terrible schools but loved the area otherwise. We have since moved. We now live in an area with decent schools and a great local Catholic school but continue to homeschool because:

a) Homeschooling is giving my children an excellent education. They receive a rigorous classical education that is just not available in schools. They learn things like diagraming sentences, memorizing capitals of countries worldwide, and receive a history education that is truly global.

Are they good problem solvers? How do you foster critical thinking? Do they have opportunities to participate in academic discourse?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you get a complete neuropsych completed on your 2e dc?

I ask because sometimes an LD can look like adhd and I’ve seen homeschoolers just ignore the LD like it doesn’t matter. “He can’t write so we just don’t have him write, but he reads at a college level” or “he can’t read but he can do algebra so we just read the problems to him”. The wheels come off by high school. You cannot just ignore weaknesses and obsess over strengths.

None of these accommodations fit what my DC needs (lessons are simply done in shorter periods with more physical involvement and opportunitites for movement) and the designations have been made under the guidance of our pediatrician.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you homeschooling your children?

+1

OP here

We started because we lived in an area with terrible schools but loved the area otherwise. We have since moved. We now live in an area with decent schools and a great local Catholic school but continue to homeschool because:

a) Homeschooling is giving my children an excellent education. They receive a rigorous classical education that is just not available in schools. They learn things like diagraming sentences, memorizing capitals of countries worldwide, and receive a history education that is truly global.

Are they good problem solvers? How do you foster critical thinking? Do they have opportunities to participate in academic discourse?

Yes, they have regular opportunities for problem-solving and critical thinking. There are ample examples of lesson plans, writing prompts, and discussion questions for the classic works my children read. We also analyze historical events on their elementary-school level, such as understanding the impact of geography or finding patterns in history. Co-op classes also provide opportunities to discuss ideas with classmates.

[Anonymous]

I was homeschooled my whole life. There's definitely multiple different sides to it. Sometimes it works for your family sometimes it only works well for one kid. I'll be sending my kids to school, but that's not to say I don't agree with/appreciate homeschooling. I just want a career.