Create life-long learners!
Dec 05 '00 (Updated Dec 08 '00)
I home schooled four of my children for six years. I was not satisfied with the quality of education in our public school close to home. When my daughter, Aurora started kindergarten she was already reading. They had no TAG (Talented and Gifted) program for kindergartners and I felt she was bored in class.
I decided to start teaching her and her brother Joshua at home the next year. I felt I needed the time to prepare and make a commitment to do a better job than what they were able to get at the public school.
I found there are many methods to home school. There are programs sold that will give you a complete study plan but they tend to be expensive. I resolved to make my own. I ordered catalogs from many of the textbook publishers and looked them over carefully. I went to book sales where I was able to find used textbooks that I could use for very cheap. I ordered my books through a company that sells used textbooks in good condition in any quantity for inexpensive prices. This takes a lot of time and effort but I feel it paid off.
The next year I started teaching what was required by the school district and also added subjects I thought were important for my children. I was careful to incorporate the subjects so that if I was teaching Greek History we would read “Aesop’s Fables” and talk about the great mathematicians that helped prove the arithmetic we have today. We talked about Icarus' attempt at flying in science. I even cooked food from Greece at night so they could experience what the Greek culture was like. I assigned them projects to choose from at the end of the subject to help them remember what they learned. The choices might include a model of a building in the Greek style, a paper doll with Greek costumes, an oral or written report on a subject they wanted to learn more about. Nowadays, most school districts are doing the same thing, but when I did it, it was rare.
I taught my children until we moved to a better school district and the prospect of teaching my youngest son, making the total of 5 different lesson plans became overwhelming to me. In other words, I got burned out. I have the greatest respect for a dedicated teacher.
The Pro’s of Home Schooling
* An individualized lesson plan to fit each child.
* One on one teaching.
* Building a strong relationship with your children.
* Having control of what your child is exposed to.
The Con’s of Home Schooling
* Not preparing your child for the “real world”.
* Always being a teacher, not enough time to be a Mom.
* Not enough inter-reaction with their peers.
* A tendency to feel “smug” and not giving other ways of doing things enough credit.
I am proud of the things I accomplished when I home schooled my children. One of the biggest, I feel, was creating life-long learners. My oldest daughter, Aurora will be graduating from the University of Oregon next winter and begin Graduate courses so that she may become a High School History teacher. All of my children have shown an interest in attending college. Next year I will have 3 college students in our household.
Take time to think about the commitment you will have to make to teach your children at home.
Good luck and God bless!
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Epinions.com ID:
Lytabyron
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Member: Kristi Richardson
Location: Portland,OR
Reviews written: 54
Trusted by: 29 members
About Me:
Married for 34 years with 6 kids. I love cooking, reading and enjoy plays.
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