debating homeschooling my 10 yr old

Anonymous
Apologies in advance, as I am a total beginner on this subject. Currently my 10 year old 5th grader has been doing all distance learning at his k-8 MoCo private school - full school days (830am -330 pm with one hour lunch break), all remote 5 days/wk, all synchronous with teachers by zoom, classwork, group projects etc.
He has not missed going to in person school at all (except for seeing friends) and has been very responsible paying attention in class, doing the assignments, keeping track of the work and has been doing well. He has asked me multiple times if he can be homeschooled next year. His older brother is one year ahead of him in 6th grade at same school so I know pretty much what the curriculum at this school will be next year. He enjoys being home and having independence. We already supplement his math with AoPS on the weekends, and he takes piano lessons (now via zoom) and he is an avid reader.
How do you know if your child is one that will do okay with homeschooling? How do most home schooled children have social interaction with other children? Do most parents do some of the teaching on their own and some with tutors or homeschool zoom classes? I can probably handle teaching him the math with AoPS and Singapore math resources but as for the other subjects I am not sure how to even start.
Any advice or DCUM threads that discuss this would be welcome. Thanks !
Anonymous
I just started homeschooling DS, but so far it is going really well. I’m doing the core knowledge curriculum and I already know everything, so I’m just teaching it. I think it is really helpful that be already has a friend group that he socializes with. I know homeschoolers have local groups they do activities with but it’s nice that i don’t feel like we need that. And I figure that if it starts going poorly, we can just put him back in school.
Anonymous
Long time homeschooler here. I would just warn you that the online schooling you are getting is being served up to you in a way that you are not going to find anywhere else without paying a premium for a similar service. That being said, you should try getting time4learning.com. Just sign up for a month or so and let him try it. Its a lot more self directed, but its still grade level sequenced stuff and you can essentially use it as a stand alone curriculum.

The best part of homeschooling, though, is the flexibility to do OTHER things that are not as structured but every bit as educational, if not more so, depending on how you look at things.

Also keep in mind you cant emulate school hours for instructional time. Your child doesnt get the concentrated instructional time you can give him, or he can give himself with the right resources. So you will need to give him other ways to occupy his time outside of that. You supply the structure of the day and all that other stuff.

Good luck!
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Long time homeschooler here. I would just warn you that the online schooling you are getting is being served up to you in a way that you are not going to find anywhere else without paying a premium for a similar service. That being said, you should try getting time4learning.com. Just sign up for a month or so and let him try it. Its a lot more self directed, but its still grade level sequenced stuff and you can essentially use it as a stand alone curriculum.

The best part of homeschooling, though, is the flexibility to do OTHER things that are not as structured but every bit as educational, if not more so, depending on how you look at things.

Also keep in mind you cant emulate school hours for instructional time. Your child doesnt get the concentrated instructional time you can give him, or he can give himself with the right resources. So you will need to give him other ways to occupy his time outside of that. You supply the structure of the day and all that other stuff.

Good luck!


I forgot to clarify time4learning is different from the premium online services. Its much cheaper.
Anonymous
If he likes dL, look into the public and private options through K12. They’re virtual schools, with teachers that do this as the norm, not due to a global pandemic.
Anonymous
I would recommend not relying on K12 or time 4 learning for homeschooling a middle schooler. Middle school should be years of interest-led project-based learning.

Instead, my suggestion would be to continue the math you are currently doing and find out what sorts of history and science he's interested in you. If you are already paying for private school and AOPS, I assume you are willing to pay for things he's interested in so the cost premium may be less of a problem.


Curriculums to look at (if you want to do much of the instruction yourself):
Blossom and Root
Build your Library
Oak Meadow (they also have a graded option)

Look into the following online-based providers:
Well Trained Mind for Language arts and history
Next Level Homeschooling (asynchronous) for science and history
Outschool for various interests. My DS currently takes a one-hour-a-week architecture class using MindCraft and loves it.
Languages: Homeschool Spanish Academy, italki (for other languages), Duolingo, Rosetta Stone, Mango Languages (last three free through various libraries)
Code.org

In-person classes- be sure to have something in person whether it's a coop, scouts, etc
In VA - look at Compass.
In MD, look into:
Rethink Science (in Greenbelt, her classes are excellent, drop off program).
Cheverly STEM (drop off program),
Ancestral Knowledge (if he's into outdoor learning at all),
Greenbelt Community Center (has lots of homeschool classes - art, ceramics, music)
Sligo Creek Coop

Field trips (all the following have homeschool programs, but I'm unsure what will happen in fall)
Maryland Science Center
Baltimore Aquarium
Waters Museum
Building Museum
Anacostia Watershed Society (not a traditional field trip, but they often need volunteers for their mussel project)
Colonial Williamsburg
Historic St. Mary's
Historic Londontown
Mt. Vernon
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I would recommend not relying on K12 or time 4 learning for homeschooling a middle schooler. Middle school should be years of interest-led project-based learning.

Instead, my suggestion would be to continue the math you are currently doing and find out what sorts of history and science he's interested in you. If you are already paying for private school and AOPS, I assume you are willing to pay for things he's interested in so the cost premium may be less of a problem.


Curriculums to look at (if you want to do much of the instruction yourself):
Blossom and Root
Build your Library
Oak Meadow (they also have a graded option)

Look into the following online-based providers:
Well Trained Mind for Language arts and history
Next Level Homeschooling (asynchronous) for science and history
Outschool for various interests. My DS currently takes a one-hour-a-week architecture class using MindCraft and loves it.
Languages: Homeschool Spanish Academy, italki (for other languages), Duolingo, Rosetta Stone, Mango Languages (last three free through various libraries)
Code.org

In-person classes- be sure to have something in person whether it's a coop, scouts, etc
In VA - look at Compass.
In MD, look into:
Rethink Science (in Greenbelt, her classes are excellent, drop off program).
Cheverly STEM (drop off program),
Ancestral Knowledge (if he's into outdoor learning at all),
Greenbelt Community Center (has lots of homeschool classes - art, ceramics, music)
Sligo Creek Coop

Field trips (all the following have homeschool programs, but I'm unsure what will happen in fall)
Maryland Science Center
Baltimore Aquarium
Waters Museum
Building Museum
Anacostia Watershed Society (not a traditional field trip, but they often need volunteers for their mussel project)
Colonial Williamsburg
Historic St. Mary's
Historic Londontown
Mt. Vernon


If the child in question will likes distance learning, there’s no guarantee that they will like homeschooling the way you were describing. Having experienced virtual school through K 12, my suggestion to op was to check out the public and private options, because they’re very similar to distance-learning.
Anonymous
OP, I have homeschooled for years, too, and I have kids in advanced programs in public school. (I have three kids and one who loved homeschooling, while the others have only done it for a couple of years). I have homeschooled through middle school but have not done high school.

Socializing: there are many, many social opportunities for homeschoolers in this area. My kids have made friends through nature programs and sports classes for homeschoolers but we don't typically attend park days or other purely social events. My kids maintain their neighborhood friends and play travel sports through which they have made friends.

How much you personally teach is up to you. There are many (too many!) curricula from which to choose. And there are also many excellent homeschool academies. My middle schoolers do a combination of classes on-line and study with me. The classes at Well-Trained Mind Academy (my favorite) are much more demanding, better taught, and more enriching than anything my children have taken in AAP in FFX County. A PP said that you will pay a premium for this kind of class, which is true comparatively, but it is a tiny fraction of what a private school would cost: I think it's in the ballpark of $800 per course per year. We have also taken excellent classes through AOPS and others.

If you want just some in person learning, Compass (in Oakton) has really wonderful offerings. This has always been a fun supplement for us: like an acting class or a history class with reenactors.

Of all my kids, my big reader is the one who loves homeschooling the most and who got the most out of it. He was so, so easy. I'd find a topic (of course, selecting something I thought he would like) and he'd delve deep. He is a sophomore at a private high school now and excelling academically.
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