This has become the question of the year for me. Many people are very surprised to hear that we are homeschooling, especially since we happen to live in an amazing school district with excellent teachers. We had two great and interesting years at our local elementary, where I spent most of my days volunteering, before we finally made the decision to homeschool.
One of the biggest reasons for our change was the socialization factor. Many parents see this in a completely different way than I do. Most people like the fact that their children can “socialize” with children of their own age at school. I learned the hard way that this isn’t all it is cracked up to be. Your child can have the best teacher in the world and be in the best school, but their character and learning can be seriously affected by the children that are in the class with them. It is impossible to choose the influences that are part of your child’s school day when they are in someone else’s care. There is no way to know what the other children are being taught at home by older siblings, friends, or parents. Of course, in America, we all have the right to believe the things we believe and to teach our children what we want them to believe. I choose to be the deciding factor of which children my son spends his time with and is influenced by.
I do think it is very important to expose homeschooled children to group activities, even if they are at home with other siblings. There are many homeschool groups and resources in Palm Beach County for homeschoolers. Some of them include clubs like Legos or chess, P.E. classes, field trips, paid classes at places like HomeLink, or even getting together with a homeschool support group to play. It is a great feeling to know that the activities that I choose for my child will be ones that build his character, rather than ones that encourage him to give into peer pressure and misbehavior.
The second reason that we chose to homeschool was to make sure that our son would be receiving the education that he needed in a way that is fun and productive. Like most kids, my son is better at certain subjects than others. It is important to us to let him learn at his own pace. For some subjects he might be above grade level and for other subjects he might be right on target or behind. This one-on-one instruction ensures that he understands the material being presented to him. It also allows him to advance at his own pace or even take a break from learning if it gets to be too much. In public school, children don’t have those options. The ones that don’t understand the material might get left behind. The ones that get bored in school tend to find unproductive things to do, usually getting them in trouble. The flexibility that homeschool provides is very important to us.
There are so many different types of curriculum, schools, co-ops and resources to help you plan your child’s education. Although I call what we do “homeschool”, we are actually part of the Florida school system which uses the K12 curriculum. My son is a student at the Florida Virtual Academy. We had to apply and get accepted to this home learning school. Once accepted, the materials were sent out to us, lesson plans included. This school offers teacher support, clubs, field trips, and more. The only negative aspect of this program is the 4-hour daily schedule that you must adhere to. It can be flexible but it is still about 2 hours more than the average homeschooler needs to spend with their child to teach them the lessons for this age. Either way, homeschooling beats the public school hours significantly, especially when you factor in the amount of time parents spend helping their children with homework (after the already long 6-hour school day).
For those parents that may be considering homeschooling, the best place to start your homeschool journey is on the website of the Florida Parent Educators Association. They have information on how to start, support groups, activities throughout the state of Florida, an annual convention, and more. There are also many books on homeschooling in the library as well as the bookstores. A couple of my favorites are: “Home Learning Year by Year” by Rebecca Rupp and “The Everything Homeschool Book” by Sherri Linsenbach. There are so many books to choose from that are filled with useful information. With the growing demand and resources for homeschooling, it is easy to find the support and assistance needed to teach your children…no matter what your obstacles may be. Jump in…you’ll be glad you did!
Additional resources:
FPEA (Florida Parent Educators Association) start here for info:
Florida Virtual Academy
HomeLink Education (resources for homeschoolers):
http://www.homelinkeducation.org/palm_beach_co_fl.html
K12 Online School (can be purchased separately from the Virtual Academy
How do I choose curriculum?
http://www.homeschooldiner.com/basics/curriculum/do_i_need_curriculum.html
