I'm a homeschooling mom AMA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are your teaching qualifications?

College degree, experience substitute teaching, experience teaching Sunday school, extensive reading on psychology, child development, and learning styles.

So pretty much every parent in the DC area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you ever get tired of the smarmy, idiotic, condescending questions from other DCUMs?

What's it like having the smartest kids on your block?

Do you ever worry that your kids aren't being bullied at school?

Haha I like you!

[Anonymous]

Long term plans?

Will you home school middle school and high school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you ever worry they’re too sheltered?

Homeschooling sounds great to me especially because my own experience in public schools wasn’t that good (lots of terrible teachers, too many disruptions from other students, too many transitions, a lot of classroom mgmt issues and not enough time to focus on subjects that interested me, hardly any individual attention, overcrowded classes, too much focus on testing, etc etc) but public school is also how I learned a lot about others who had different life experiences, came from different backgrounds, and how to be strong, resilient, work on my own stuff through the distractions, etc...I wonder how homeschooled kids fare in the “real world” as they get older.

Not really, because they do participate in the community. They do community sports and activities with children from a variety of educational backgrounds. They have coaches and teachers with varying degrees of skill in these areas.

As I discuss in another answer, as their learning needs begin to expand beyond my own teaching abilities, I also plan on using more online classes, community classes, etc. So, as they reach adulthood, they will have experience with more traditional classrooms. In the co-op, they also have group learning experience/distractions/etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good on you. The proof is in your kids. We homeschooled ours for two years and it was wonderful. The best part is they keep their curiosity and love of learning. Also you can keep the conversation going throughout the day - to the lady that said what do you talk about dinner. (With our kids in school the conversation went: ‘How was school?’ Kid replies: fine.). I find it hilarious that you were asked for your credentials. The so called experts in MCPS STILL have our kids on a totally failed curriculum 2.0 for NINE YEARS. Even if you picked Tier 1 curriculum and followed the teachers manual your kids would be better off than Jerry Weist’s corrupt deal. Good on you! Keep it up!

Thanks! We love it!

[Anonymous]

My kids are grown, OP. My youngest is 18. If I could go back and do it all again, I would absolutely homeschool. At least through middle school. Sounds like your kids are doing great!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are you so against traditionally schooling your children?

We do not continue to homeschool in opposition to traditional schooling. Rather, we proactively select is as the educational model that best fits the learning style of our children and our family lifestyle.

I do not believe that one-size-fits-all is the best schooling option.

[Anonymous]

Where do you live?

Do you travel often with your kids/family?

What do you have to do when you start out to get “approved” by the state to homeschool? Does anyone ever check up on you to make sure you’re giving the kids a good education?

Where do you buy your teaching materials?

[Anonymous]

Do you think you are better than other parents who send their kids to public school? I ask because whenever I am around homeschooling parents the conversation inevitably turns into how bad regular schooling is and they don’t seem to find this offensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are your teaching qualifications?

College degree, experience substitute teaching, experience teaching Sunday school, extensive reading on psychology, child development, and learning styles.

So pretty much every parent in the DC area.

Largely, yes. I have a number of family members (including my own mom) who are teachers as well as friends, and they agree that a lot of their education degree revolves around classroom management and learning about curriculums/learning styles. Learning styles can be learned from books, especially as you begin to work with your kids. And there are countless curriculums on the homeschool market now, many of which are targeted at different learning styles. Classroom management is not as much of an issue when you only work with a few kids. Even a few members of our co-op are certified teachers. As you raise your own children, you get to know their own learning styles. Many people naturally 'homeschool' preschool-- ie teaching basic literacy skills, colors, numbers, etc. With official homeschooling, you just continue that into school-age. Good homeschooling parents also recognize their limitations and look for community resources to help if they find their child has a learning disability or when their learning needs get beyond what you can comfortably teach (like any other parent). It does not have to be complicated.

[Anonymous]

Good job, OP. High school will get harder to homeschool, as the various topics become significantly more in-depth, so please think that through when the time comes.

My son is twice exceptional and I seriously considered homeschooling him, but we finally decided on Montgomery County Public Schools where they have a GT/LD program, comprised of a resource class, services and accommodations, and access to advanced classes.

I have read some of the Well Trained Mind, and was tempted, though! I guide my children towards classical literature as much as possible - it's such a different reading experience than the usual junk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do you live?

Do you travel often with your kids/family?

What do you have to do when you start out to get “approved” by the state to homeschool? Does anyone ever check up on you to make sure you’re giving the kids a good education?

Where do you buy your teaching materials?

We do travel regularly domestically, some international plans in the mix. During the school year, we do try to keep a consistent schedule but do sometimes take advantage of our built-in flexibility for day trips-- particularly if my husband has the chance to take off.

In our state, we have to have two portfolio reviews a year-- basically we have to present documentation of our homeschooling in the core subjects for a homeschooling representative from the county to oversee. It is not very difficult.

I get much of what I need through Amazon and ebay, through I read reviews and research through a variety of homeschooling sites.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you think you are better than other parents who send their kids to public school? I ask because whenever I am around homeschooling parents the conversation inevitably turns into how bad regular schooling is and they don’t seem to find this offensive.

Nope. In fact, I regularly converse with public school teachers about lesson plans and educational strategies. Homeschooling is just what works best for our family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you home school? Concern over education quality at your local school options or do you worry about their interactions with other children?

Do you worry they’re missing out on mainstream life experiences?

OP here-- already covered the why question.

For the bolded-- not really. They get a lot of them through their co-op-- lots of unstructured time with sizeable groups of kids with different personalities. Are they missing some? Probably, but considering the prevalence of screens in modern education (but no my children are no computer illiterate) as well as bullying in schools, I do not consider this to be a net-negative.

My 3rd grader has picked up so much bad language at school and we’re in a highly regarded public school. I don’t blame parents for keeping their kids away from that.

Really? That's your gripe with school? Teach your children the correct words then no problem. In the real world they will hear bad words,LOL...

[Anonymous]

I'm glad this works for your family. Personally I think it's a mistake to think you can do a better job than trained professionals. Yes, there are poor teachers and poor schools.

Not sure what you will do in HS. Chemistry, Physics, Computer Language Classes,Computer Hardware classes, etc..Are you experienced in these classes or Advanced Calculus?

Exposure to other minds is a great thing. Sheltering is not.