[linz152]

My kiddos are still really little (2.5 and 6 months) but I know the time will be on us soon and I've considered home schooling, although not terribly seriously. The school district in our town offers a Virtual School option. You get the curriculum from them. Some of the lessons are done online. I think this would be good because there would be structure and also the benefit of the diploma from the school district.

We live in a town with a blessedly good school district. And we live in the area with a great elementary school. There's a tremendous amount of parent envolvement at the elementary school.

I just wondered what prompted those of you who decided to home school to do so. Did any of you start HSing from the time they were in Kindergarten on? Do any of you utilize a virtual school program through your local school district? I'm just trying to gather some information at this point.

TIA!
Linz

[isthisme]

Wow what a cool program! We don't have such a thing here in Louisiana. We began homeschooling in K... all of my kids have attended or will attend MDO program at our church when theyare around 4... as for why we started.. with the first itwas because we just really didn't like our options.. local schools weren't great... private schools were expensive... my husband hasALWAYS wanted me to homeschool but I wasn't too sure... I agreed to give it a shot... and even though we have moved and have a better school area and more kids.. we have just stuck with it. It's a comfort to know that our values and morals and not other peoples are being instilled in ourchildren.. it has also drawn a real close bond with our children... we have wonderful homeschool groups in our area so socialization is NOT an issue! If anything we have to choose what not to participate in so we can get our actual schooling done! Will we homeschool forever? who knows? We recently gave our oldest..going into 9th grade ....the option to choose if she would like to enter mainstream schooling... she has several friends who are there including her best friend... after many months and going back and forth she came to us and said she really couldn't think of any GOOD reason to go! acouple of months later.. her best friends parents have now decided to homeschool their daughter. Good luck in your decision! lots of prayers and research go into making the right decision for our children! Just take your time and do what is right for your family.

[isthisme]

oh.. and as for curriculum.. our younger ones use various homeschool curriculums.. depending on their individual needs.. our oldest is enrolled online at morningstar academy..

[linz152]

Thanks for the info! I am not sure why it's been on my mind lately but it has. My DS did a MDO program at our church last year and will do it again this year. He loves it. They don't do any preschool curriculum but he loves to go play with his friends.

I went to public school in this town and I actually loved it. I was always a social butterfly and involved in a ton of stuff. I had a lot of fun. My DH had a completely different experience. It has always seemed like a no-brainer that our kids would just go to public school but homeschooling has been on my mind more and more latey. I think it has something to do with the instability of the economy and gas prices and such. My motherly instinct is to hold my kids close to me. I don't know that that's the right reason to home school though! I also know that they are still really little. So maybe when they're ready for Kindergarten, I'll feel differently.

Thanks again,
Linz

[isthisme]

I think motherly instincts are what God gave us to take care of our children.. you have plenty of time for that decision... just take your time and wait and see how you feel when they are older.. never apologize for wanting to protect your children ..just don't let it allow you to smother them :0)

[linz152]

I am afraid of smothering them for sure. My DH thinks I'm crazy because we bought our house in this specific elementary school zone and yet now I'm wanting to talk about HSing. He is afraid of the socialization aspect of it.

If you don't mind me asking, have any of your kids ever attended public school (other than MDO)?

Thanks!
Linz

[SoccerMama]

This is a good thread. I attended Christian school from grades 1-11 and figured my kids would do the same. I've always been very anti-homeschool because when I was growing up the kids who homeschooled were very old-fashioned and just not cool! I felt bad for these kids because I didn't know how they were going to function in the real world.

My views have changed though. Homeschooling has become alot more mainstream and there are lots of activities for kids to get to interact with other kids their age.

I am definitely thinking about doing it for kindergarten.

[SeekingHeaven2]

We didn't decide to start homeschooling until our only son (with 4 sisters) came home from 1st grade talking about womens underclothes and the parts of the body they cover. My husband and I were like "Oh no"! We called the school, set up a meeting, with the principle and the parents of the children who were talking to him about such things. Meeting didn't seem at all to disturb the parents of the other children. Then a few weeks later he got off the school bus with a busted lip (he rode the bus with K-2nd grade children only). That was it too crazy for us. The next school year our youngest daughter was suppossed to start kindergarten and our oldest daughter 8th grade---enough was enough. We prayed about it and just had faith that God would be there and everything would be fine. We are getting ready to start our 4th year and our oldest only has 4 1/4 classes until she graduates. Our youngest is starting 3rd grade and compared to the other children she's fine. Well, except for the fact that she knows how to clean, shows respect for others, cooks, etc.... and the children from our church that are in public school do not have those skills. Oh yeah, and she even created her own coupon book like Mommy's; LOL!!!

[isthisme]

No, they haven't.. I'm not saying they won't one day.. who knows..we really take it year by year but so far it is working for us...

socialization is such a misconception... Idon't know where you live but we have MULTIPLE homeschool groups in our area.. we even have yahoo groups so we do all communication through email including setting up fieldtrips and play dates.. we even have a homeschool girl scout troop and are thinking of starting a boy scout one next!

mykids also have neighborhood friends who they associate with who go to public andprivate schools and church friends too.

The difference in homeschool socialization is you as the parent get to choose what kind of person your child associates with for the most part.. when they are in school.. that isn't much your choice... they are forced to deal with kids they may not even want to deal with...(and teachers too, these days)

As they grow older and develop values and morals its easier to tryst they are making the right decisions friend wise for themselves! You know what you have instilled in them!

I guess my main goal for my kids is keeping them well rounded in all aspects of their life.. friends, school, church, sports, music... and finding what their greatest interest are and moving forward with that... homeschooling allows you to pick and choose and work their schooling around things that interest them which for the most part brings out better grades and eagerness to learn!

[isthisme]

soccemama.. you are right.. things have changed ALOT.. even the years we have been homeschooling... the choices for curriculum are endless and the programs are phenomenal.. this year we are actually going to havea tackle football team and cheerleaders! I never thought I would see that day.. they will compete with public schools in their division!

[Lovin Savin]

We live in a very rural community, the bus ride to school each morning is over an hour. The schools simply are not very good, so many people homeschool here in this county theres only 1 high school and 2 grade schools for the entire county. My oldest DD does attend public high school, by her choice. Shes a senior this coming year, and felt since she had been in PS all her life before we moved here she wanted to finish and get a diploma. But shes very disappointed in the school here herself. We moved here 3 years ago because of my DH's job, and decided we actually like the quietness and the people here, but the schools were another story.

My DH worries about social skills, but they will be playing sports if they want to, do 4-H, church youth groups, etc. My older kids actually have so much to do they have to pick between them sometimes. So when my younger ones get old enough they will have plenty to do, and until then Im really enjoying them just being home