Comments on: First we’ll talk about homeschooling http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2006/09/01/first-well-talk-about-homeschooling/ dawn friedman's blog Sat, 22 Nov 2008 10:40:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc By: Carolyn http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2006/09/01/first-well-talk-about-homeschooling/#comment-13905 Carolyn Tue, 17 Oct 2006 20:28:10 +0000 http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2006/09/01/first-well-talk-about-homeschooling/#comment-13905 Your situation could be mine--its kind of eerie! I just held my academically ready daughter back from K because she would be the drop dead youngest in the class and is extremely introverted and very uneasy in groups. So I thought I would try homeschooling her for a year for fun... However, homeschooling has proved so incredibly efficient and fun and she eats it up and begs for more. It is almost November and she is already way out of the K type scope and sequence and is a fluent reader at probably a 3rd grade level. So now what am I supposed to do with her? I am afraid she will just space out if I send her to K next year, although peer wise, she gets along much better with that age child and knows several which would help her socially. I am very intrigued that your son came out of his shell. I am so hoping that will happen to my daughter eventually. I am a little worried about how I will ever transition her to school in the future if we do homeschool for some elementary grades. It seems like all the cliques will already be established and my quiet daughter will be an outsider, but maybe I am borrowing trouble, hard to say. I can't say enough about homeschooling for academic reasons anyway--it is just so much fun and my kids really love it. It is so exciting to see their spark for learning and I would dread to think it might be extinguished in school someday. But I really have no first hand experience with the public school environment to know if that would happen or not.---Carolyn Your situation could be mine–its kind of eerie! I just held my academically ready daughter back from K because she would be the drop dead youngest in the class and is extremely introverted and very uneasy in groups. So I thought I would try homeschooling her for a year for fun…
However, homeschooling has proved so incredibly efficient and fun and she eats it up and begs for more. It is almost November and she is already way out of the K type scope and sequence and is a fluent reader at probably a 3rd grade level. So now what am I supposed to do with her?
I am afraid she will just space out if I send her to K next year, although peer wise, she gets along much better with that age child and knows several which would help her socially.
I am very intrigued that your son came out of his shell. I am so hoping that will happen to my daughter eventually. I am a little worried about how I will ever transition her to school in the future if we do homeschool for some elementary grades. It seems like all the cliques will already be established and my quiet daughter will be an outsider, but maybe I am borrowing trouble, hard to say.
I can’t say enough about homeschooling for academic reasons anyway–it is just so much fun and my kids really love it. It is so exciting to see their spark for learning and I would dread to think it might be extinguished in school someday. But I really have no first hand experience with the public school environment to know if that would happen or not.—Carolyn

]]> By: ivy http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2006/09/01/first-well-talk-about-homeschooling/#comment-13904 ivy Sat, 02 Sep 2006 23:10:03 +0000 http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2006/09/01/first-well-talk-about-homeschooling/#comment-13904 I want to thank you for this post. I think "I just have to homeschool this year" will become my new mantra. My son is 13 and I am so over homelearning with him. His sister is 5 and shares my interests. Not only that, she and I have similar learning styles. Homeschooling with her seems natural. But my extremly right brained teenager has always been a challange for me. We've been unschooling, but this year he needs more structure and lots more academic work in case he dicides to go to highschool next year. This means more more work for me. Especially since he wants to be in a co-op that requires more work from the parents than it does the kids. At his age, I think he's ready to take more control over his own education and also to get our into the world on his own more. It's on ongoing and difficult transition for us. I want to thank you for this post. I think “I just have to homeschool this year” will become my new mantra. My son is 13 and I am so over homelearning with him. His sister is 5 and shares my interests. Not only that, she and I have similar learning styles. Homeschooling with her seems natural. But my extremly right brained teenager has always been a challange for me. We’ve been unschooling, but this year he needs more structure and lots more academic work in case he dicides to go to highschool next year. This means more more work for me. Especially since he wants to be in a co-op that requires more work from the parents than it does the kids. At his age, I think he’s ready to take more control over his own education and also to get our into the world on his own more. It’s on ongoing and difficult transition for us.

]]> By: DS-L http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2006/09/01/first-well-talk-about-homeschooling/#comment-13903 DS-L Sat, 02 Sep 2006 11:29:08 +0000 http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2006/09/01/first-well-talk-about-homeschooling/#comment-13903 I too am in awe of your ability to step back with Noah and give him space. I am reading this very good book, The Price of Privilege, by Madeline Levine and really recommend it. It is by a psychologist and attempts to get to the root of why the most affluent kids are experiencing an epidemic of depression, substance abuse, suicide etc. Basically she argues that it is a combination of achievement pressure and isolation from parents both of which lead kids to an empty inner life and no sense of self. Kids today are experiencing so much academic pressure from parents and schools that they are losing the ability to develop their own interests (which leads to a healthy development of self) and have parents who are overinvolved in some things (school, grades, sports) but emotionally distant. Anyway, when I read about your letting Noah feed the animals in your earlier post about homeschooling rather than discuss with you the history of the 1880s, it hit home. Noah needs to feel valued for what interest him. I don't homeschool, but am trying really hard to enrich my boys by exposing them to what they are interested in, and to soften the hard edges of expectation in their schools. My third grader last year was actually nervous about his state tests until I told him they don't matter AT ALL! It is just the state keeping tabs on your school, they have nothing to do with you! Anywya, you are doing good work Dawn! DS-L I too am in awe of your ability to step back with Noah and give him space. I am reading this very good book, The Price of Privilege, by Madeline Levine and really recommend it. It is by a psychologist and attempts to get to the root of why the most affluent kids are experiencing an epidemic of depression, substance abuse, suicide etc. Basically she argues that it is a combination of achievement pressure and isolation from parents both of which lead kids to an empty inner life and no sense of self. Kids today are experiencing so much academic pressure from parents and schools that they are losing the ability to develop their own interests (which leads to a healthy development of self) and have parents who are overinvolved in some things (school, grades, sports) but emotionally distant. Anyway, when I read about your letting Noah feed the animals in your earlier post about homeschooling rather than discuss with you the history of the 1880s, it hit home. Noah needs to feel valued for what interest him. I don’t homeschool, but am trying really hard to enrich my boys by exposing them to what they are interested in, and to soften the hard edges of expectation in their schools. My third grader last year was actually nervous about his state tests until I told him they don’t matter AT ALL! It is just the state keeping tabs on your school, they have nothing to do with you! Anywya, you are doing good work Dawn!
DS-L

]]> By: Susan http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2006/09/01/first-well-talk-about-homeschooling/#comment-13902 Susan Sat, 02 Sep 2006 01:23:08 +0000 http://www.thiswomanswork.com/2006/09/01/first-well-talk-about-homeschooling/#comment-13902 Wow, Dawn. Thanks for the great post. (especially since I asked the question!) I really do think you are brave, and it is a great thing for your kids. I think it takes a great huge leap of faith, especially to "unschool." My going-into-seventh grader is currently doing fifth grade math, and I am FREAKED OUT. So in addition to sending her to a loopy doopy private school (that I think believes it is an unschool itself) we are also doing outside tutoring. It's kind of insane, especially if I look at it from your perspective. I think to take your child out of the academic system and TRUST that they will ultimately be OK, no, MORE than OK, is a huge thing. And I really admire your ability to do it. I am a wimp. (also way too lazy) I am also worried that if I let my kid learn at her own pace and to her own desires, she would end up the village idiot and never learn a thing. During the summer, left to her own devices, she would NEVER read a book or do anything remotely creative or educational. It would be all TV, all the time, or the Internet, or maybe trashy magazines. Sigh. When they were little, too, I truly always believed that they were MUCH better off with ANYone else but me, because I was such a grump. They went to a "laboratory" school staffed by people who were passionate about education and children and development, and I felt like I could never in a million years hold a candle to them. They taught me so much about parenting, and about kids, that I had no idea about. Anyway, my hat is TOTALLY off to you. As I said, I am in awe. Wow, Dawn. Thanks for the great post. (especially since I asked the question!) I really do think you are brave, and it is a great thing for your kids. I think it takes a great huge leap of faith, especially to “unschool.” My going-into-seventh grader is currently doing fifth grade math, and I am FREAKED OUT. So in addition to sending her to a loopy doopy private school (that I think believes it is an unschool itself) we are also doing outside tutoring. It’s kind of insane, especially if I look at it from your perspective. I think to take your child out of the academic system and TRUST that they will ultimately be OK, no, MORE than OK, is a huge thing. And I really admire your ability to do it. I am a wimp. (also way too lazy) I am also worried that if I let my kid learn at her own pace and to her own desires, she would end up the village idiot and never learn a thing. During the summer, left to her own devices, she would NEVER read a book or do anything remotely creative or educational. It would be all TV, all the time, or the Internet, or maybe trashy magazines. Sigh.

When they were little, too, I truly always believed that they were MUCH better off with ANYone else but me, because I was such a grump. They went to a “laboratory” school staffed by people who were passionate about education and children and development, and I felt like I could never in a million years hold a candle to them. They taught me so much about parenting, and about kids, that I had no idea about.

Anyway, my hat is TOTALLY off to you. As I said, I am in awe.

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