Homeschooling Review

           Homeschooling my two youngest sons was one of the highlights of my life. My older three children all attended and graduated from public school. My next to youngest I taught at home from 6th grade through12th and graduated him. My youngest son I taught from 5th grade until 10th grade. (He asked to go back to school in 11th to socialize, meet girls,etc. and we agreed. He made National Honor Society in 11th grade and had no problems readjusting to public school. He scored high on his ACT test and now has been asked to apply for West Point because he has the qualifications they are looking for. His teachers told me that they were so impressed with his ability to learn, his research skills, manners, and much more.)

              What I discovered while teaching them is that I was either learning along with them, or getting a great review of what I already knew. Many things were much easier due to life experiences. For this reason, I tended  to use everyday examples when teaching math and other subjects.  Field trips were both fun, full of learning, and applicable to what we studied.

                We proceeded with our studies at our own rate.  If we were interested in a subject, we spent longer on it. We also tried several learning methods- audio,visual,kinesthetic,etc. so things didn't get boring and the information could be retained easier. There was seldom any need for "homework."  We did reports,debates,played educational games,hands-on projects, and many other things.

                  The public library was a main resource for us. Books,magazines,reference materials,videos, and more were free to borrow.  We also used the internet a lot. Both boys took classes through Barnes and Noble University one year and enjoyed them. Reading is an important part of a homeschooler's life and we all read together every day, as well as on our own. I would describe what we did as eclectic, because I did not use any certain curriculum. We made up our own with what we thought would be best for each subject each year. The boys got to choose some of their own electives as well as what type of science classes they wanted  at the high school level. For example, I taught Oceanography using a college textbook offered to me for $1 by a  publiclibrarian who was very supportive of us.

                   Birthdays were a school holiday. I wanted my children to know that the celebration of the day they were born was important to me. We tried different school hours- such as doing school in the summer, evenings, and weekends. Both boys could not focus early in the morning, so by the time they were in high school we always started later in the morning at the earliest.  I liked the flexibility of  being able to do things on the schedule we chose to fit our needs.  We all seemed healthier while homeschooling, and the boys had plenty of extra time for interests and hobbies of their own.

                      While I wouldn't recommend homeschooling to everyone- some parents just are not suited to it- I would tell anyone interested in providing their kids with a great education and personal attention to try it. There are some people who give homeschooling a bad name, and you do need tough skin sometimes when people put homeschooling down, but I wouldn't  trade the experiences I had for anything. I only wish I had homeschooled pre-school through college!  I became a life-long learner myself, and am now teaching myself things I want to know more about. I find life more interesting than many people my age do. And I admire those dedicated teachers in public schools with 30 kids in each class!