homeschool survey
One Sixteenth: A different homeschooling poll
1. Why are you homeschooling? How much does it have to do with an inability to get kids ready and off to school in the mornings?
Well, that’s a definite plus; I like that Noah can sleep as long as his body needs to. I homeschool because I think the stuff that John Holt said is dead on and resonated with my experience of school, too.
2. How long do you plan to homeschool?
I’ll stop if/when it stops making sense.
3. What about college? Are you worried they will have trouble getting in?
If Noah wants to go to college, he’ll go to college.
4. If your kids went to school at any point, is your relationship with them different now that you are homeschooling?
N/A
5. What would your ideal school look like, and would you send your kids if it existed?
A drop-in, Sudbury Valley-minded school. One that Noah could go to when he wanted to do what he wanted. And I’d like it to be a “learning center” for adults, too. So Noah could learn Spanish (or whatever) and I could study music (or whatever).
6. What convinced you to homeschool (pushed you over the edge)?
We originally decided to homeschool when Noah was a toddler but I started to rethink it as he got older. I was pretty depressed about not having another baby and I started considering going back to school or work just to get out of the house and away from the constant reminder that my life-plan was f*cked. But then when it came time, I knew that Noah wasn’t ready for full-day kindergarten and I was unhappy with the district’s curriculum. We decided to give it a year and see what happened. What happened is that we’re happy.
7. How did you overcome your initial fears?
I haven’t entirely.
8. Do you tend to choose curricula with a particular worldview, or do you tend to use what seems to be the best curriculum and adapt any worldview issues?
We’re unschoolers but have tried on Five in a Row and we use Singapore Math. I also agree with the classical mindset that kids need access to a lot of really great material.
9. Do you belong to a support group? How active are you in it?
There’s a huge formal support group and I lurk on their email list but don’t join up. Several of my friends and I are working to create our own intimate community and so far I’m pretty happy with that.
10. Do you work better to a schedule, or do you let your days fall as they may? Or do you draw up a schedule for humor value?
No daily schedule but some of our activities are scheduled. We do better with a rhythm.
11. Do you start school before 10 am?
We don’t haev “school” but yes, we get going before 10am although there are days that we’re still in our pajamas at 10am.
12. Do you get out of bed before 10 am?
Always.
13. What time do your kids get dressed?
Depends on the day.
14. What is your favorite response to the line: “Oh, I could never homeschool my kids.”
I don’t have one. I guess it would depend on why the person says that. There’s lots of ways to live in the world. Whatever.
15. What’s the response you actually use?
I smile and say, “Yeah, I can understand that.”
16. How many bookshelves are in your house?
2 in Noah’s room, 1 in the bedroom, 1 giant one in this office, 4 in the family room (plus one holding CDs), and 5 in Noah’s playroom. There are also a couple in Brett’s secret room but I try not to go in there.
17. How much coffee do you drink?
Too much and I need to cut back.
18. Share a moment with your kids that let you know you were undoubtedly doing the right thing by homeschooling.
I don’t really have a moment but it’s mostly seeing Noah so damn happy every day. And also seeing how chaotic his interests are — how he dives into something and dives back out to focus on something else. It means a lot to me that he’s able to go at his own pace and spend lots of time on something specific if he needs to. He seems so … fulfilled, I guess. That makes me awfully content.
Oh, Dawn, this survey has me giggling with all the ten AM questions. My husband and his mom (he was homeschooled till 10th grade when he asked to go to HS - good thing, cuz that’s where he met me LOL) were DEFINITLY the after 10 AM group. Most days E would wake up, make his little kid self breakfast, and start his “work”, while his mom might rouse herself at around 11 to check in on what he was doing - she is nocturnal, that woman, always has been. I think if and when we homeschool, we may still be in our pj’s like you mentioned, but we’ll definitly be up!