HP: Lucky ba$tardette. Sounds like it's going well for you.
While I'd love to see you and your family while you're in KC, I can understand your reluctance: "Hey sis, this is Hairdog, my buddy from the "Sex Starved Marriage" forum I frequent."
Yeah. Could be a problem. And what would you say to Mr. HP when your kids come back and say what a wonderful day they had in KC playing with "Uncle Hairdog."
Still, if you need any ideas of fun things to do, you can always reach me here on the ol' ssm board.
Really is great to hear that you had a wonderful weekend with your man.
Ok, Chromo, here goes. Had it all typed out once and then poof!
Anyway. School. Firstly, I have committed to exactly one year of homeschooling, and at the end of the year I will evaluate it and make the decision regarding 1st grade. So high school is SO far away from my thought process right now! Good gravy, she's 6, ok. Talking about my babies being in high school is a surefire way to make a mom bawl and carry on about how fast the time goes.
Socialization is a concern of mine but not as much as it would be if we did not live near other kids. She plays every day with the same kids in the neighborhood. Our house is the "cool" house to play at, for some inexplicable reason. (and it's not MrH's sparkling personality--he hates the little rugrats being here, lol)
Anyway, I've signed her up to belong to a co-op that handles the subjects that I do not feel comfortable teaching, such as music or art. I can read music and teach it to D, but as far as music appreciation, she'd be better off learning from a professional. Kindergarten art, yeah, I can handle that but I can see that she may outstrip my abilities very soon. So she will go to those classes once per week and interact with the same kids each week.
My SIL homeschools her 3 kids (this is her first year too) and her 12 yo son goes to a local church in an affluent neighborhood which has a state of the art facility where the kids take classes in various subjects. He is mostly there for computer science, and science, as well as a math tutor being on site--this place looks like NASA on the inside, it is way cool. It's pricey but nowhere NEAR the cost of private school tuition for an entire year, which is what she had been paying.
I imagine I will do something like this, if need be.
Last week we had the neighborhood kids here (11, 9, 6) for dinner. They wanted to see D6's school stuff and hear about what goes on when you're a "homeschooler". So we described our day (they were most fascinated by how short of a day it is, lol) and at the end of it I asked them if they'd miss their school friends, were their moms to start schooling them. All of them shouted "NO!!" as fast as they could. I was actually surprised at that. So I don't think socialization is as much of a concern as it's made out to be. I rather think it is one of those 'buzzwords' that get tossed about when people are talking about a subject that they don't have any firsthand knowledge of, kwim? Don't get me wrong--I do think that she will be socialized differently than a child who is immersed in other kids all day, but I'm okay with that. As long as she is not a social misfit--and she isn't--it doesn't bother me that she won't be exactly like her peers. Now, if it starts bothering HER, then it will be time to revisit the homeschooling decision.
I really feel like a bit of an idiot talking about homeschooling as if I'm some sort of expert--so far we've completed the first quarter of kindergarten.
If you would be interested in more info, perhaps you could talk with my schooling mentor, MrsNOP, who homeschooled her and NOP's daughter from K through highschool, and whom is now working on her doctorate at some ridiculously young age like 24.
Thanks HP. I have considered home-schooling a bit. Many of the newer teachers at the schools in this area are really causing concern. I do a lot of outreach (physics/astronomy demos for the 4th graders, etc.) and I have not been impressed with what I have seen teacher-wise. My W being as intelligent as she is, she could do a pretty good job at it I'm sure. The only real consideration is will we be able to afford long-term living on just my salary (as we are now) or will she need to get a job. At any rate, I plan to closely monitor my kids education and "fill in the holes" as they go along. Don't worry, I'm not going to be one of those irate parents that screams and hollers at PTA meetings. But I will call a club a club (never liked using spade there, too close to a racist remark).
Thanks for your perspectives, I'll probably ask a lot more as things move along (assuming we are still both here 3 years from now ). I would love to hear MrsNOPs perspectives too.
"I rather think it is one of those 'buzzwords' that get tossed about when people are talking about a subject that they don't have any firsthand knowledge of, kwim?"
The exact reason I asked, no firsthand knowledge. The only people I know who homeschool do so for religious reasons, which is usually disastrous. They don't want their kid's mind's "polluted" with science (i.e. evolution) or with naughty books (i.e. Huck Finn or "atheist" authors). Kids that I've seen come out of homes like that are usually sooo far behind in critical thinking and problem solving skills, that they usually end up making horrible life decisions once they cut the apron strings.
I'd say the thing to watch out for on the "socializing" side is jealousy when they get older. Can you as a home schooler get your kids into after-school activities run by the school (i.e. band, sports, beta club)? If not, then your kids may feel left out a bit. JMHO.
Thanks again for the info. Good luck with it all!!!
"Recollect me darlin, raise me to your lips, two undernourished egos, four rotating hips"
Hi Chromo, I was looking over the list of activities that this homeschool co-op offers and I was astounded. Honestly, it is the kids in regular school who should be jealous. The list of extracurricular activities was mind boggling. I had no idea homeschooling was as big around these parts, as it is. There was *fencing* on the list for cripes sakes! It was amazing all the stuff they offered.
I am not an Extracurricular Parent, for sure, so I will not be encouraging D to do 18 outside interests along with school, like some parents around here. You've got violin, soccer, baseball, dance lessons, girl scouts, and that's just ONE kid! That type of lifestyle is not for me and, furthermore, I don't think it benefits the child whatsoever. We are more of a (at this age, anyway) one activity per child.
I was browsing through the homeschool newsletter and the list of activities the highschool kids do was impressive. Plays, debate teams, you name it. Again, I can't even think about high school..that makes me feel excessively nervous for a variety of reasons. Not the least of which is that Blackfoot has his filthy little eyeballs on my eldest. That would make any mother run for the hills, eh.
Interesting. The home school groups around here don't have anywhere near the amount of extra-curricular activities that the schools have. Unfortunately, the schools do tend to put all their money and focus into sports.
"so I will not be encouraging D to do 18 outside interests along with school, like some parents around here."
I am curious about this comment. It seems like a few (well chosen so as to not go overboard) activities will make a kid more well rounded. There are a lot of important life lessons to be learned being part of a team (whether that is football, band, or Beta club). I do agree that some parents either encourage too much outside activity, or allow their child to over-commit. Everyone needs adequate time for classwork, and down time, even kids.
Maybe when my kids get a little older, I'll start getting nervous about the empty nest. Hasn't hit me yet.
"Recollect me darlin, raise me to your lips, two undernourished egos, four rotating hips"
I'm not a parent. The only kids I'm around are my bf's teen daughters. However I WAS a student for many years. So here FWIW is my comment on school and activities. This is not about homeschooling, but about school in general.
I see these kids in so many activities. They are exposed to a LOT-- not just at school, but in the media, they travel. All well and good. But can they write a sentence and punctuate it properly? Do they know how to think and do research (besides googling on something)? Do they read books all the way through and discuss them? Do they know how to evaluate ideas?
Some of the "homework" the girls bring home astonishes me! They do Power Point presentations instead of writing papers. One class did a project on the 60's and interviewed their parents and their parents' friends. The result was a multimedia presentation that they put on a DVD. Another class wrote a parody of The Music Man-- I'm not talking about a music or drama class-- this was supposed to be literature. These sound like extra-curricular things, but they're doing them in class as part of their regular coursework.
When I was a kid, the previous generation talked about how school had been "dumbed down" for us. We were reading Dick and Jane, and our parents and grandparents read "McGuffey's Reader," which if you've ever seen it, would challenge some adults. I guess I'm officially an old fogey now, because I see the same thing happening. These kids are very savvy, especially tech-savvy, but are they gaining any knowledge?
Enrichment and variety (e.g. fencing) is all well and good if the kids have had their meat and potatoes (potatoe? Yeah, hairdog, Dan Quayle made my point very nicely). Can they read, spell, think, analyze, do research? Can they locate countries on the globe and cities on the map of the United States? Are they familiar with major events of history and why they are important?
And bf's daughters are in the gifted and talented program. I shudder to think what the average kids are getting (or not).
Believe me, I hear you Lil. I'm here in the trenches trying to improve science education by doing a LOT of outreach activities, and it is really depressing how far it has fallen since I was in school. On the other hand, teachers are doing a better job at pedagogy than they used to (less chalk-and-talk, more hands-on). I just wish the education departments at most universities would require more content classes for their teachers.
Education is a multi-faceted problem, from "dumbing down" to limited resources, to overworked school teachers, to overworked kids, to overworked parents, to universities being run like a business where numbers of students are more important than quality of education. Don't get me started ...
"Recollect me darlin, raise me to your lips, two undernourished egos, four rotating hips"
Let me give you a concrete example. Our computer science department just put in a proposal to add one of their courses to satisfy the general education requirements for MATH!!!! Their reason, they are the only discipline with no courses in the GenEd listings. If their proposal passes, students will be able to take a course on how to use Word, Excel, Powerpoint INSTEAD of algebra/trig/calculus. (blood boiling in Glob's head). Fortunatley, I don't think it will pass.
"Recollect me darlin, raise me to your lips, two undernourished egos, four rotating hips"
