CAN LAZY PEOPLE HOMESCHOOL?
Posted by Karen on Nov 27 2007
Another NaBloPoMo question….
Valleygirl asks:
I can’t believe how much the blogosphere has made me think about homeschooling!!! Every post I come across that give examples of how people handle it, I absolutely devour. Like this one. I’d be a little afraid though, that in my laziness, my kids would end up spending over a year getting through each year’s curriculum! How do you stay on track? Does the curriculum come with a recommended timetable? Do your kids still have to write state-wide tests or something (I don’t know how it works down there! Or up here, for that matter!!) to prove to the department of education that they’re indeed learning something basically on par with kids their age in public schools?
That was one of my fears when I started homeschooling….how would I stay organized enough to keep on track. I seriously could imagine a week month going by without doing any schoolwork at all! Luckily, we found a pretty organized curriculum. We use K12. The lesson plans and some lessons are online, the rest are in books that are included with the curriculum. It tracks your progress and calculates your end dates for each subject. You can even set how often you want to do a certain subject–maybe every other day, maybe every day.
I know there are a lot out there who prefer to put everything together on their own. They hunt down the perfect curriculum in each individual subject and piecemeal something together. Yeah, that’s great, but I know I would never get it all done. Or I’d forget something major and my kids would get to college having never heard of something important–like long division!
I know there are also lots out there who do something called “unschooling.” Basically the idea there is to just let the kids guide their own learning and then try to incorporate lessons based on their interests. So if the kid loves butterflies, then you figure out science lessons, history lessons, and math lessons all about butterflies. For composition, they write about butterflies. For spelling words, they learn lists of butterfly parts. Again, I’m not that organized to pull this off. Besides, how many lessons can I possibly create for Nick based on “video games?”
Each state here in the US has different rules about homeschooling. I’ve found HSLDA is a valuable resource for finding out what is required for each state. For the state of Ohio, there are only a few requirements. One, we have to notify the school district each year that we intend to homeschool, that we will complete 900 hours of schooling, and we have to agree to teaching certain subjects. And secondly we have to submit EITHER the results from a standardized test OR a statement from a certified teacher that the student is progressing at the appropriate level.
I think the saddest thing about it is that we don’t NEED 900 hours to cover everything. They may need 900 hours in the public school system in order to corral and teach 28 students in a class, but when you are working 1-on-1 with a student, you can get it done so much quicker.
I could probably write more about this, but I have to get off of the blog and do school with the kids. Another busy busy day at the theater for us, so we’re packing in school while we have a moment!
on 27 Nov 2007 at 12:00 pm 1 ValleyGirl said …
Thanks for taking the time to answer! Since I asked that question, I’ve actually discovered the homeschooling association site for my province and there they give all the requirements for meeting provincial standards.
I’d definitely be the sort who’d need an all-in-one curriculum. I’ve browsed here and there through homeschool supply sites and there is just WAY too much to choose from!!
Hey, and I have another question. Were either or both of your kids in public school before you started homeschooling? How did they react when you said you were switching? How did they feel about not spending the days with their friends?
on 27 Nov 2007 at 12:51 pm 2 Awesome Mom said …
That program looks great. How does it compare price wise to other programs? It is looking more and more like I will be skipping the whole public school thing with my boys. It just seems like they will be able to learn more and better with me teaching them.
on 27 Nov 2007 at 12:58 pm 3 Becka said …
I homeschooled my son for preschool, and now my daughter. I am seriously considering homeschooling further, but we are currently in a good system. I did teach my son to read by 4, but for some reason my now 4yr old girl has no interest. (he was also easier to potty train, so there goes the saying that girls are easier to train, lol)
I was looking in to Abeka, but that K12 looks good too. I want her to be more than ready for kindergarten!! She is not quite where her big brother was at this age.
on 27 Nov 2007 at 5:22 pm 4 Teryn said …
I’ll have to take a look at that program. My kids are still very young, but I’m already feeling very intimidated by homeschooling. I love the idea of unschooling, but, like you, I don’t think I’m organized enough — I worry we’d end up doing nothing — and my husband is a little freaked out by the lack of structure.
I love your homeschooling posts — keep em coming!
on 28 Nov 2007 at 7:24 am 5 tiffany said …
Homeschooling isn’t very popular in Australia, in fact, I’d have to go so far as saying it is discouraged by the government/ education department.
Seriously though I am unsure if I would have the discipline to do it. I take my hat off to you.
on 28 Nov 2007 at 10:11 am 6 reba said …
i never thought i had the discipline for homeschooling but you make it seem simpler than i thought (of course i never thought i had the discipline for being a mom either and i just ran for a second term)
the school system here is not the best and just working with my son casually on things before preschool he was reading by 4 and counting quite consistently up to 30, he can also identify the makes (sometimes models) of most cars by the body style…..that may not be as helpful in school LMAO
on 29 Nov 2007 at 1:24 am 7 Dana said …
You share some good basic ideas here. I am not sure how to answer the “laziness” question. I assume that even those who see themselves as such do what they need for their children, ie., diapers get changed, meals get made, etc. Education isn’t a whole lot different, although it definitely does mean a little more to do in your day.
Their are curriculae to suit every level of involvement you want to have from write it yourself to DVD programs that basically do all the work of teaching for you.
I’d encourage someone to take a look around, talk to homeschoolers with a similar philosophy and see what you think would work for you!