To Homeschoolers: Need HomeSchooling Help

[KathrynJB]

I work part-time, and when my son was older he'd tag along to meetings and such. Sometimes he brings a book and still does, but he's 13 and capable of being on his own, too.

We DON'T structure our lives like school. Julian takes a lot of the responsibility for his own learning now, and we rarely "sit down and do school." We spend a lot of time exploring the world, however--museums, trips, volunteering, concerts, etc. etc. Ultimately, however, Julian does MUCH more learning than the typical hours required of schools in a week.

Kathryn

[teraberry]

Good for you, KathrynJB! That's the way I plan to homeshcool.
Homeshcooling doesn't need to be public school in your house. It's a whole other way of teaching your child about the world.

[dianemarie]

We're eclectic home schoolers here.

My 15 year old spends most of her days working with her plants and planning her garden for next summer. She's also studying for the GED and researching colleges that accept students with GEDs. So far she's looking at Sarah Lawrence in NY and UT Austin.

The 13 year old reads and works on math worksheets that she requested. She's also interested in computers and has been working at building her own website.

We don't do much that would resemble a regular school. We've just started this year and I have to say our entire household is calmer and more relaxed. Since the oldest was having to get up at 5:30 to catch a bus at 6:40 I'm seeing the biggest changes in her. I usually wake both girls up at 9, but this morning I was sidetracked and they slept until 10:30. Some mornings we're up at 4 or 5 just to watch the stars. I love home schooling and wish I'd been brave enough to do this years ago!


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[teraberry]

Dainemarie - yay for you. I'm so happy to hear how well it is going. I'm happy for your kids too!

[ladey_hawke]

Hi there!

I was homeschooled from 5th grade up and I have seen many different styles of doing this. The biggest drawback in my experience has been that I don't have a high school diploma. I did take the GED, but in the real world it doesn't do diddly-poo for you. I am now a single mother of 4 and am having a really hard time finding decent employment. Not because I am not intelligent or cannot do the required work. It is simply because I do not have the all important piece of paper that states my butt was planted in chair for 4 years.
My brothers, however, 5 years younger that me, went through a school in Michigan called Clonlara. The followed thier own curriculum and did what they wanted but at the end of it all, they had a high school diploma and a transcript to fall back on. Also, they had the legal protection of being associated with a school. It is a satellite program and an excellent one at that.
If I could recommend one thing for any homeschoolers it would be to try to get associated with some group or school that offers the option of getting that diploma. I know it's just a piece of paper, but in our society, it is that piece of paper and not actual knowledge that is all important. You could have the intellect of a piece of bread as long as it has been credentialed!

[KathrynJB]

For us parents of teens, that's really useful advice, Ladeyhawke. I expect that my son will probably go to college. Most colleges are not requiring diplomas from homeschooled kids these days, so that will probably not be a problem. But if he is heading toward the last year or two of being homeschooled and it seems he is NOT college-bound, we will certainly take your advice and look into Clonlara or one of the other programs, so he will have a diploma.

Kathryn


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[teraberry]

Question

What do universitys and colleges look at when homeschooled kids apply? SATs and ACTs? Does anyone know if it's more difficult for a homeshooled kid to be accepted.

In any case this should not deter anyone thinking of homeshooling a high schooler.

[dianemarie]

Thought I'd list a couple of the books that have been very helpful to me.

The homeschooling book of answers by Linda Dobson. She has several other books on homeschooling that have also been great reading for me.

"The unschooling handbook" by Mary Griffith. Subtitle on this book is "how to use the whole world as your child's classroom."

If you are looking for resourses for any subject check out "The big book of home learning" by Mary Pride.

"Real lives: Eleven teenagers who don't go to school" by Grace Llewellyn. I'm waiting for a copy of her book "The teenage liberation handbook."

"And what about college? How homeschooling leads to admissions to the best colleges and universities" by Cafi Cohen

"The homeschooling handbook: from preschool to high school:
a parent's guide" by Mary Griffith.

I found all these books at the library. Since I decided to homeschool I have checked out dozens of books from the library. Search words that worked for me in our library system where "homeschool," "home school," and "homeschooling." Also, back issures of "Home Education Magazine" have been good reading.

[KathrynJB]

Tera, it depends on the college. Some want homeschoolers to take an extra test or two. MANY are very anxious to get homeschoolers. Homeschoolers attend college because they want to be there, rather than its just being the next step like lots of students. They know how to learn independantly, which is an important skill for college students. They've often done very interesting things.

There are a lot of ways to prepare transcripts, and different colleges have different expectations. Colleges as esteemed as Stanford, Yale, Harvard, MIT, etc. regularly accept homeschoolers.

One book we're finding helpful is Loretta Heuer's The Homeschooler's Guide to Portfolios and Transcripts.

If you care, I have a couple of short articles in the book The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child: Your Complete Guide to Getting Off to the Right Start by Linda Dobson. It's a neat book for new homeschoolers, but perhaps I am biased.

Kathryn

[ihvfaith]

In our area we have many homeschoolers.
None have had any problem getting into college.
One girl is going to harvard, another is studying
to be a Dr.
They look anymore for a overall well rounded person.
Most homeschool children are way above average
acadimacllly(sp) speaking.
I have a ged I went to a good college in Oklahoma.

[mayfly]

A lot of states also have a running start program. This is where the state pays for your child to attend a community college, or Vo-Tech if they have not received their HS diploma. A lot of my friends are opting for that.

Also most high schools can work with you. Out here if the student has completed all the HS graduating requirements, and attends 1 class for 1 semester at the HS they will receive their HS diploma.

I love HSing, it has been a huge blessing. A trial at times, but I see so much fruit coming out of it in my kids.

[KensLuv22]

I could not believe my eyes when DH & I stumbled upon this site!! For $19.99 a year you get everything at this place!! Have you ever heard of ClassBuilder?? Here's a snippet from their site:

Lesson Plans - Worksheets - Teacher's Lesson Plans - WebQuests - Primary Teacher Resources - Math Lesson Plans - Writing Lesson Plans - Reading Lesson Plans - Science Lesson Plans - Technology Lesson Plans - Social Studies Lesson Plans - ...

11443 Lesson Plans, 1296 WebQuests, 5000 Free Worksheet Generators, 1600 Word and Critical Thinking Problems, Exams and Puzzles for Standardized Tests.


The good thing is that all of our daughter's classes are here, including Trigonometry, Psychology and loads more!!

If anyone's is interested, here's the site

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I'm so excited!!


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[good intentions]

Originally Posted by heyitsmesheila

I thought of a couple more questions..........What kind of schedule do you follow? And do any of you that homeschool work outside the home? If so, how do you coordinate the schedules?

I just wanted to say I work 3 days a week, Tues, Fri., & Sat. I school the other 4 days . It works out fine because we get a lot more work done before lunch than my kids did in a couple of days at their school. Homeschool to me is so that I can teach my kids my morals, not their teachers or peers. I decided to homeschool this year. I have a first grader and a fifth. It's been hard for me because they miss the social part of school, "who's wearing what, who's most popular, who's skinnier, what boy they thought was cute". This is a big reason to me to get them home. While I know this is very normal I want my kids to focus more on the family. It has been great not to deal with as many broken hearts from mean peers.The time we have together now is worth it all to me.
I have been searching all day for a test that will show us how on target we are this year. Can you give me a website that offers one.

[good intentions]

You can buy transcript kits, name your school, make your own seal to stamp on it and send your child to college from the imformation I got from a mother sending her oldest son to college. Did you know Harvard sets aside 6 places just for homeschoolers. I've also heard of several kids getting full 4 year scholarships. I think colleges really want homeschoolers. FYI 4-h offers alot of things that really look good on transcripts.

[freesurfer]

There are also some great sites out there that have worksheets on line for novels you might use with your child too.