I think this was done before, but just curious which of you home-school and which curriculum you use?
Also curious, if one parent stays home, do they work or not? TIA.

Thanks, RetiredAg. I do remember you mentioning that before. Do you all do something everyday, or several times a week? I have heard some people have schedules like 3-4 days a week for 3 weeks a month, etc.

We have no schedule since we have no formal instruction. Everything is fluid with us, but that's because we see everything as a learning opportunity for the kids.

We do visit the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the zoo A LOT. Our son is obsessed with paleontology. He's a blast to go through there with him because the depth of his knowledge is insane. It's one of those areas where you really see that he's autistic.

RetiredAg said:

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We have no schedule since we have no formal instruction. Everything is fluid with us, but that's because we see everything as a learning opportunity for the kids.

We do visit the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the zoo A LOT. Our son is obsessed with paleontology. He's a blast to go through there with him because the depth of his knowledge is insane. It's one of those areas where you really see that he's autistic.

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We have homeschooled for 14 years, I think. We've been through several curriculums. It varies depending on the child.

We use Sonlight as our basis curriculum then vary the math and science based on the strengths and focus of each child. We like Sonlight because of its reading focus.

The math and science changes from year to year for our two younger. The older one used Apologia science and Saxon math all the way through.

LevelAg said:

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We have homeschooled for 14 years, I think. We've been through several curriculums. It varies depending on the child.

We use Sonlight as our basis curriculum then vary the math and science based on the strengths and focus of each child. We like Sonlight because of its reading focus.

The math and science changes from year to year for our two younger. The older one used Apologia science and Saxon math all the way through.

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Thank you. I'm looking at those programs right now and Apologia looks pretty solid.

We did start out using Charlotte Mason.

I forgot to answer the second part.

My wife is busy with school and getting our kids to various activities, so I am the sole income provider.

One of the things I love about homeschooling is the ability to modify curriculum for each child. That can make it more expensive, but it helps each one do what they are capable of and maintain their interest in school.

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One of the things I love about homeschooling is the ability to modify curriculum for each child. That can make it more expensive, but it helps each one do what they are capable of and maintain their interest in school.

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This! Our son does not deal well with structure at all. Our daughter is much more structured. Being able to modify our approach has been so important. As a result, they both love learning. We could see that love of learning getting stamped out real fast when our son was in the school system. It's what finally led my wife to get on board w/ homeschooling.

Curricula: Mother of Divine Grace

I personally think a combination of "home schooling" and private school work best if it can be afforded. The socialization of school is important and should expose your children to different beliefs imho. My wife and I were always concerned that home schooling would lead to a "cocoon" mentality which would make it more difficult to adjust to the "real world" at a large university. We even main streamed our special needs kid and she got her Masters on her own in Denton never driving a car. And now has a job and lives independently in CS. And of course, insists on going to hew own church, Grace Bible, while we attend Brazos Fellowship. Independent little cuss.

That is what God led us to do through our prayers. Seek His will and the path will be made straight,

dermdoc said:

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I personally think a combination of "home schooling" and private school work best if it can be afforded. The socialization of school is important and should expose your children to different beliefs imho. My wife and I were always concerned that home schooling would lead to a "cocoon" mentality which would make it more difficult to adjust to the "real world" at a large university. We even main streamed our special needs kid and she got her Masters on her own in Denton never driving a car. And now has a job and lives independently in CS. And of course, insists on going to hew own church, Grace Bible, while we attend Brazos Fellowship. Independent little cuss.

That is what God led us to do through our prayers. Seek His will and the path will be made straight,

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Thanks, Doc. Well stated and very true. We did private school this year for my son, but there's been some changes for us professionally and personally. Your daughter's testimony is encouraging (as is your son's, RetiredAg).

It doesn't matter what we as parents think or want. It's almost universal that home school kids regret being home schooled. They don't get the social benefit and are encumbered by the idiocy of us parents. The effort is just petty worthless protectionism.

RetiredAg said:

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Ralphy said:

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It doesn't matter what we as parents think or want. It's almost universal that home school kids regret being home schooled. They don't get the social benefit and are encumbered by the idiocy of us parents. The effort is just petty worthless protectionism.

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Do you have any data supporting the statement that this regret is "almost universal"? Because this is absolutely untrue from what I've seen. Also, studies have shown homeschooled children often exceed their system counterparts in terms of social skills.

I believe people grossly overestimate how much socialization actually occurs in a system where they can only interact in 5 minute bursts between classes, and typically only with their own age group.

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Right?

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They don't get the social benefit and are encumbered by the idiocy of us parents. The effort is just petty worthless protectionism.

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The social benefit of being socialized by the idiocy* of their teachers? The social benefit of being socialized by other children who don't know how to behave?

This is just my experience, but for every maladjusted or awkward home schooled adult, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of socially inept products of public and (private schools).

In fact, out of the 10 or so adults that I know were homeschooled, all but one of them are by age 30 are self-made millionaires. Generally, they are far more more charismatic, confident, and driven than the rest of us, probably because they did not have to endure the self-esteem destroying jungle of middle school through high school.

As for protectionism: The only way that you can guarantee that you have a good teacher who is actually invested in the education your children is to do it yourself. Speaking as a guy who is married to what I consider to be a good teacher, I know that she is also hamstrung by administration, testing, as well as the fact that she has 30-35 students to a class and has to somehow find a balance that will keep the interest of her smart students, her average students, and her dumb students as well as dealing with the idiots in the class who like to cause problems because they have no interest in the class they are placed in. As much as you would want to, you cannot give one on one instruction in that environment. Even though she cares, when the day is over she goes home.

Now contrast that to a parent who cares deeply and can give their children all the one in one attention they need and can help them master the material at their own level.

If you'd like to read up on the myth of socialization and homeschooling, here's a good study on it: Homeschooling and the Question of Socialization. The study looks at various studies on the subject that address parental attitudes, social skills of children, social adjustment in college/adulthood, moral/spiritual development, emotional intelligence, problem behaviors and life satisfaction. The "life satisfaction" aspect may be helpful in addressing your "almost universal regret" claim.

TampaBayAg said:

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I think this was done before, but just curious which of you home-school and which curriculum you use?
Also curious, if one parent stays home, do they work or not? TIA.

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I'm curious, how do you homeschool without a parent staying home?

I found an article that addresses that: How These Parents Work And Homeschool Too

We know single parent homes where the child receives homeschool instruction when Mom gets home from work. Of course, this is an older child. The child works at a horse stable during the day

We also have friends where Mom works and her sister stays home with the kids and teaches them.

That just seems stressful to try to work from home AND teach your kids at the same time. Kudos to those that do it. Not for me.

Veritas Press

I wonder who Ralphy was.

Username checks out.

People pick the strangest things to register socks about. Why do you even respond to rookie trolls?

RetiredAg said:

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I believe people grossly overestimate how much socialization actually occurs in a system where they can only interact in 5 minute bursts between classes, and typically only with their own age group.

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I think the 5 minute burst thing is a pretty gross exaggeration the.
However, I think that schools have gotten so big that it is impossible to know everyone in your grade, much less school anymore. That leads to isolation. I think that is a big problem

swimmerbabe11 said:

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RetiredAg said:

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I believe people grossly overestimate how much socialization actually occurs in a system where they can only interact in 5 minute bursts between classes, and typically only with their own age group.

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I think the 5 minute burst thing is a pretty gross exaggeration the.
However, I think that schools have gotten so big that it is impossible to know everyone in your grade, much less school anymore. That leads to isolation. I think that is a big problem

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I think this makes a lot of sense and I have no doubt that it has lead to isolation for some kids. Ultimately, I think a smaller system makes the most sense, but. . . . .

. . . . for sake of playing devil's advocate - I went to a very small grade school and then a very large middle / high school and had a different experience. One of the advantages for me in the larger school system was that it was easier for me to find a group of friends that I fit in with. And I think most people in my school did not care who the jocks were, who the cool cheerleaders were, or who the nerds were. Going to A&M felt like an entirely natural transition - you find your group of friends and you don't have these rigid sterotypical high school cliques.

Very anecdotal, maybe. Just thinking out loud / wondering if the large school idea has some social merit.

Socialization, like everything else related to child-rearing, starts at home.

School is a very artificial environment.

Nowhere else in a person's lifetime will they be in that same kind of environment unless they get a job in academia.

Nowhere else will they be segregated by age and expected to be as compliant and unquestioning of authority.

I think public school is more of a hindrance than a help to healthy socialization.