Home school vs. Public Education

With only six months of experience under my belt it is definitely safe to say, I am NOT an expert in homeschooling.  But I am not a newbie either.  I have made a few mistakes, and did a few things very well.  I hope to share these with you to both help make a better decision for education, and give you good ideas.

FAIL: Too many resources, not enough time.

WHY THAT HAPPENED: We participated in a Parent Partnership Program through the local school district.  They provided resources through Rainbow Resource (which was great), but the problem was there was WAY TOO MUCH.  Which one is best?  Which ones will your kids get done so fast you can't keep up?  What about the ones that EXPLAIN NOTHING?  It was very mind-boggling.  I know the ones I loved, and the kids got the most from (Horizon's Math, and Health books, and Usborne World History get PERFECT reviews in my book).  The ones I didn't love?  The Common Core books by Spectrum.  Some concepts they explained, others were lackluster.  Also, they are black and white printed, and the kids just couldn't latch on to them. 

WIN: Schedule out times and activities for the entire week.

WHY THAT WORKED: My kids liked having clear goals for each day, which we prepared ahead of time.  They sometimes got behind, but we were able to "reschedule" assignments in "free time" spaces so that they each could feel a sense of accomplishment when they would finish a goal.  We tried "winging it" or "un-schooling" at first, and wow, for us, that was an EPIC fail.  My kids were overwhelmed with the work and creating a schedule for themselves.  I had to step in and give them tools (i.e. a planner) to help them organize their time, resources, and ultimately put them in charge of their learning speed.

FAIL: Socialization issues.

WHY THAT HAPPENED: The kids had been in public school until Christmas break.  They were used to their friends, after school play, and a tight schedule.  Going into home school from public school was too much for my youngest, that had been the ASB leader of his class, and had been part of advanced groups.  He loved (and by that I mean THRIVED) in the social structure of school.  When I removed him from that, he wilted like a daisy.  I put him in groups, we had play time with his friends, and he still wasn't getting enough.  We met one kid that I was not crazy about, and even less crazy about his parents.  It was one of those families that can give "home schoolers" a bad name.  This "friend" needed social help, and was awkward at best.  I had to limit contact because I will be frank, the family gave me the heebie-jeebies.  I don't mind that my child was friends with him during the "social" times, but the child INSISTED on isolating my kid.  I was not okay with that.  We dealt with it.  The oldest may try the program again, but the youngest is going back to a traditional school setting.  He needs social, and I am okay with that.

WIN: FREE PRINTABLE!

WHY THAT WORKED: I did not have money to continually try to find curriculum that would match what I wanted to teach in the week.  I found http://printables.scholastic.com/printables/detail/?id=23740&ESP=PRT/ib//acq/teachersapprec///teachersarticle/freeprintable and http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/collection/more-printables/printables-3rd-5th-grade.  I love all the math, science, art, and reading activities, ALL FREE!  I used a lot of printer ink ;).

FAIL: Did not grade papers as they were finished.

WHY THAT HAPPENED: I was trying to do too many things at once.  Don't be me.  Grade the papers and find a system that involves recording grades.  It will work better than not.  Someone may want to see evidence you are educating your kids.  This is the best way to make your case, and show your child's progress.  I understand some people don't feel they need to "prove" anything to anyone, but alas, this is wishful thinking at best in the long run.  Lower grades, you can get away with, but by Middle School, have a plan.

FAIL: Trying to work full-time and home school.

WHY THAT HAPPENED: Maybe you can handle all the pressure of keeping up a house, making every meal, doing all the shopping, working part-time away from the house, part-time from home work, home school, social activities, supervise musical groups, go to church, and manage to sleep...  I cannot.  By mid-May I was frazzled, and MANY balls dropped, including grading papers.

The boys have now decided to go to "specialized" public school options.  They are ready to get back into class, and although I feel like I could have actually done better this year, the husband and I agree, it's probably for the best.  I am trying to train for a half-marathon, and catch up with work.  I have let home school go for now, but maybe someday, when I am not trying to run a business and work full-time, it will be an option again.

For those that want to try to do the work and school thing, TRY it!  You may do better than I did.  Hopefully, you can see where I fell down, and avoid those (painful) fails! 

DUE TO "SCRAPER" SCUM IN OTHER COUNTRIES, THE FOLLOWING NOTICE IS FOR YOU: (C) JULY 18, 2014 United States of America.  H.Jennings.  Any misuse or illegal scrapping of content constitutes copyright infringement.  Please email contact the web administrator for written authorization to re-post or quote any information on these pages.