End-of-the-Year Giddiness

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Wed May 25, 2011 9:33 pm

I have to confess that I feel a wee bit giddy that the end of the school year is so close. In my two decades of home schooling, this has been one of the hardest years ever, almost entirely because of MC. But standardized testing over the next two days will satisfy state requirements, and whatever we do beyond that is for ourselves.

Next fall, my 16yo starts college, and except for a few things (like second year Latin and driver's ed) to round out her education, my intensive planning/teaching for her is over. Three down, one to go... I am taking seriously the advice to develop my own interests and hobbies so that I am not left bereft when something that I have poured heart and soul into for so long is over.

But I don't want to think about that now. What I am thinking about is SUMMER!!! Sometimes I think home schooling moms look forward to the end of the school year more than the kids.

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Thu May 26, 2011 5:04 pm

Marliss - how in the world do you do it??? Your kids must be angels :). I've been trying to work a bit with my 5 year old grand-daughter, who is in kindergarten, and it's sooo hard. She prefers to play - and frankly, so do I !!! I know that good teachers make the school work seem like play, and I tried very hard to make it that way, but not with much success.

I'm actually also looking forward to the school year being over, since it means I'll no longer be tied down by watching Naty (my grand-daughter) in the mornings. However, it's kind of bitter-sweet, since I know I'll miss her smiling face at my door :(.

Congratulations on your accomplishments and enjoy your hard won freedom - summer is coming - yeah !!!!!

Love,
Kari

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Thu May 26, 2011 6:38 pm

Marliss wrote:Sometimes I think home schooling moms look forward to the end of the school year more than the kids.

All teachers look forward to the end of the school year more than the kids.

Gloria

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Thu May 26, 2011 7:20 pm

Gloria

Kari, one thing parents find out who bring their children home after their being in school for a while (my oldest was in public school until after 8th grade and my son was in private school for a year-and-a-half) is that without another authority figure in their lives who does things differently the children are easier to live with. Also, problems are dealt with sooner because they cannot fester all day while the child is in school. That cures about 90% of why parents say they "don't have the patience" to home school, or dread their children's summer break.

At five years old, generally school lasts about 45 minutes. Also, school can take place all over the house--counting towels to replace dirty ones, measuring ingredients for cookies, seeing how far she can jump, how many letters she can recognize or words she can spell with magnetic letters on the fridge while you work on something.

I am incredibly blessed that I have been able to stay home with my children except for a year or two here and there, and now that I can work from home, hopefully I will be able to continue that. The ones I am in awe of are the single moms who work outside the home and still home school, and the ones with several grade levels that they are teaching all at once.

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Thu May 26, 2011 9:07 pm

A woman in my church homeschools her children - and she has seven, including a set of twins. Her oldest returned from his freshman year at college and is on a mission now. The parents decided to let the high schoolers choose for themselves if they wanted to continue being home taught, or go to the public school. So far, they've gone to public high school.

My personal feeling is that homeschooling is fine up to high school. In high school, one person would have a hard time being an expert in all subjects, or have the requisite enthusiasm for all of them. It especially is critical to have someone knowledgable for foreign language. That could be resolved by having a group of parents team teach, with one expert in each subject, which is what a lot of home-schoolers do.

Gloria

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Fri May 27, 2011 11:10 am

The co-op movement is alive and well in home schooling, that's for sure. Some friends of mine here founded First Class Ministries, which is a co-op that has spread like wildfire all over the country. Friday School, as it's called, is a wonderful opportunity for the children to receive education in subjects they are interested in that their parents don't have a clue about or are not able to teach.

WA (among others) is a wonderful state for home schooling, as home schooled students can take classes, do sports, or music, or take advantage of other opportunities. My son took biology, as setting up a lab in our kitchen was not feasible.

He also took shop, and when his mathematical giftedness, which he did not inherit from me, outpaced my ability to teach him, he took advanced math classes. I have a friend, a former public school science teacher, who now teaches several middle school and high school home school science classes in a facility where she can set up bio and chem labs.

It is amazing to me how the educational publishers have come alongside home schoolers. The extent and quality of curricula available today specifically for home schooling is astounding. Using language as an example, it's not like when I was first starting out and teaching my oldest French from my old college textbook, having to make up tests as I went along. Now both Rosetta Stone, Instant Immersion, and others have amazing courses in a wide variety of languages. My younger kids can learn French in an interesting, exciting way and learn grammar and pronunciation in a way that I could never duplicate.

Home schooling is not for everyone, and home schooling in high school can be especially scary since it really counts then towards college and life. Everyone has to make their own decisions for their own family. Home schoolers are pretty independent, and nothing works the same for everyone. For me, I want to light the fire of curiosity and make my children life-long learners, giving them the confidence and the tools they need to set goals and achieve them. That generally happens when they are older, and there is nothing more satisfying than watching them grab hold of their own educational journey. Of course, that means that I occasionally have to light a fire under their tails in the subjects they aren't interested in at the moment.

Martha · Post by **Martha** » Fri May 27, 2011 11:39 am

My granddaughters are homeschooled, and they go to a homeschool co-op once a week to supplement they subjects that their mom teaches. My DIL is very firm that she doesn't want her kids in public school.

I homeschooled my kids in elementary school, more by necessity than philosophy. We were living in a small village in Indonesia, and since I wanted the boys to be educated in English, homeschooling was the only choice. But I loved having that time to work with my kids, see how they learned, tailor the lessons to their needs, etc. It wasn't always easy, and we didn't have any resources available beyond what came with the curriculum. Doing it in the States, with the wealth of materials available, co-ops, internet, etc, gives you a lot more scope of things to work with.

I do admire the people who teach multiple children in different grades. I only had two, and was glad I didn't have to juggle more!

Marliss, have a great summer off!

Love,
Martha

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Fri May 27, 2011 1:56 pm

Well, after today I think all my end-of-year-giddiness is gone. It was Naty's last day with me, so my SO and I took her to her favorite playground and then to lunch at Red Robbin. When we were walking her to school afterwards, she got very excited when she spotted a dandelion with spores and exclaimed: "oh, can I please make a wish"!!! She picked it up, and before blowing off the spores said "I wish I could live with my grandma". Well, needless to say, I got all choked up, and now the house feels empty. The good thing is that she lives a few houses away, so I'll still get to see her often. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to really bond with her.

Love,
Kari

P.S. Marliss - I like the suggestions you had for teaching a 5 year old.

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Fri May 27, 2011 3:09 pm

How precious, Kari. These little ones can melt your heart. How terrific that you live so close to Naty so you can see her often.

Gloria

maestraz · Post by **maestraz** » Fri May 27, 2011 3:24 pm

As a former middle school teacher who is one year into retirement, I say, AMEN, Gloria, on the issue of teachers looking forward to the end of the school year. By the end of each year, I was always so physically and mentally depleted that I needed my summer to recharge my batteries for the next school year. That's something that is rarely understood by those who have never done the job.

To those of you who choose to homeschool and do it well, kudos to you. I couldn't have home schooled my own kids, I don't think. Unfortunately, my experience with home schooled kids who entered the public schools at middle school level was pretty dismal in terms of basic skills they were missing. And, after being relatively isolated from peers, they went wild socially. So, as with everything, up and down sides. Although, Marliss, sounds like for you it's been a positive thing.

Kari, I can't wait for grand babies of my own! So nice yours is so close by.

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Sat May 28, 2011 4:36 pm

Martha: Thanks!

I will be in your area sometime in late July, I think, visiting my son and his family. Depending on our schedules, maybe we can do lunch, or something!

Kari: How very precious!! My grand-daughter is just six months old, and I am so looking forward to special times with her when she is old enough to really interact with me. How blessed you are to live so close!

Suze: I hear you. One of the frustrating things about homeschooling is running into people who shouldn't be homeschooling. Generally, if they are responsible parents, they realize what a poor job they are doing and enroll their children in public or private school. A friend did that, and one of her sons tested two years below grade level.

Then there are those who commit crimes, and when it is discovered that their children are not in school, they say that they are home schooling, when, in actual fact, they lack the moral character to be responsible enough to even enroll their children in school.

Unfortunately, many times all homeschoolers are tarred with the same brush. It's similar to those of us who are gluten-free because our very health depends on it being accused (even by people in our own family) of just being part of the current gluten-free craze, and we'll get over it when we get tired of not eating bread.

I'm sorry for your bad experience with former homeschoolers. And I am sad to hear about the going wild socially, which is another indication of how badly their parents failed at homeschooling. With all the classes and extracurricular activities available to homeschoolers (even homeschool prom), there is absolutely no reason that a homeschooler should be isolated, unless their parents are trying to conceal the bad job they are doing.

I consistently pray for the teachers in our schools. They have a hard job, and it's not getting any easier.

Martha · Post by **Martha** » Sat May 28, 2011 7:27 pm

Marliss, it would be great to get together when you are in the Dallas area. PM me when you have definite dates for being here, and we can set something up.