The school year is just almost over. Last year, hubby and I got to a decision that we will homeschool our 8-year-old boy (will be Grade 3 coming SY). Our decision was mainly driven by the fact that our son has behavioral issues at school. There were no days during the first quarter that I did not expect not to have a note from the teacher narrating how uncontrollable his behavior had been.
Funny thing is, my husband and I cannot relate with the teachers very much because our son is very cooperative at home.
Well anyway, at one point I got fed up with all the notes going back and forth. I even felt that the school (or the teachers, for that matter) are not supportive nor patient with kids.
But now, I am having cold feet. Being a full time working mom, can I do it?
We are an expatriate family without a full-time house help. Just my husband and I.
We have 3 kids - 8, 3 and 1.5 years... imagine our daily commotion just to get things done!
I have started joining online communities on homeschooling to get ideas... it seems pretty tough, but right now, I really feel that this will be the best for my son. He is a very bright kid and I think that regular school setting is not bringing out the best in him.
We have contacted homeschooling accreditation partner, Homeschool Global Middle East (http://homeschoolglobal-me.com/) , and plan to enroll our son there. We will have an expert homeschool advisor to assist us in our homeschooling journey, not to mention the coops that are already here. But still...
I could understand your intention to home school your kid who suffer from behavioral issue but is this really a good solution to you and your kid?
You mentioned that your kid is quite cooperative at home but had issues at school, so is it really your kid has a behavioral problem or is there something wrong with the school / teacher? This is my first question.
Apart from that, let's assume your kid really has some issue (I hope not), does it really good to keep him home, away from other peer groups? I am afraid that may prevent him from learning how to interact with other children, which may (or may not, I am not sure) make his situation worse?
I am no expert in children behavior and education, just sharing as a father of 2 daughters at 8 and 6.
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Thanks for that @guyverckw! Really appreciated. Actually, apart from behavioral, we had to also consider the economic side as there are limited Filipino schools in our city for which the admissions are already closed, and now likewise to other international schools (apart of course to the fact that their fees are extra higher).
Right now our options are (1) stay in the same school - we still have our slot, and (2) try homeschool.
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Ps- if in case we homeschool, there are homeschool coops in the community with whom we can meet and of course kids at the church. I think interactions-wise, if a child really has behavioral issues it is much better to have "controlled" peers- other kids we can choose our child can mingle with, than kids in school we (parents) don't really meet and know.
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I have been homeschooling our 2 daughters and they are much happier and actually learn something useful.
in Canada our schools are terrible, they spend 99% of their time trying to sort out behaviour issues.
The kids that want to learn are just sitting there doing nothing while the brats get all the attention.
It's been shown that sitting down you cut off a significant amount of blood flow to the brain, and what's the first thing they make you do in school? Sit there all damn day.
Check out ixl.com for some learning resources.
Peace
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Thanks @hatchi! That's what also prompted me to decide on homeschooling. I see a lot of potential in my kid that goes to waste just because he has extra energy to shake off and teachers don't have enough patience about it (or it may really just be the classroom setting ).
There are times when we recap at home and he'd start confused, but with just a little explanation and he's be like, "ohhh... now I know!"
Thanks for the link. I'll definitely check it out.
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Right on @arrliinn you can do it!
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This is also a concern for me because I am working full time and want to homeschool. The homeschool coordinator at International British Academy was very helpful and assured us that 4 hours per day of study will do just fine.
So my husband and I will split 2 hours per day with our 3 and 6 yr old. Good luck to us in our homeschooling journey!
I found a few bloggers in wordpress that post their activities and progress also, it's very reassuring to know that it is a larger movement and you do not feel alone while homeschooling, other parents rock at it, we will too. ;)
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It is really comforting/reassuring that there are plenty of support system for parents like us who want to homeschool. I think that bottom line is, both parents need to invest time and exert effort if we were to make it work. 😉
Best of luck to both of us, i will follow you and hopefully see more of your homeschooling journey.
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I hope that homeschooling work out for you. Personally I think it is a good idea. I was bored to death in school so by third grad my mom took me out to homeschool me full time. I have nothing against traditional school so if that works for you then great. Personally I feel like being homeschooled made it easier for me to have a more open mind. I ended up more motivated to be well read, learn a variety of topics, especially in IT and was able to learn about politics so I wasn't subjected to the usual false facts many people are these days. it's also easier to do now since there are so many online courses along with local groups you can connect with to help you.
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Wow, thanks @exavier! Coming from a homeschooled person himself, now that is something else. I hope my son would be able to say the same in the future.
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Welcome, just being honest. Glad to see you're getting so much positive feedback from people. :-) Homeschooling is really what you make of it and being adaptive.
The thing is that everyone learns differently which is the biggest weakness with regular school they try to standardize how you should teach someone. With time you will find what works best to teach your child. regardless structured curriculum is better, hands on, self taught or whatever else you find is best. If you ever need any advice on good resources feel free to ask I know I'd be happy to offer some ideas and I'm sure others will too. And there are lots of support groups both online and most likely locally who can help as well.
Homeschoolers are very organized now. The group I was part of as a kid now even organizes their own homeschool prom and homecoming, hah.
I'm sure your son will be able to say the same. Sounds like you're really dedicated to giving him a bright future. I personally feel like homeschooling was the best thing that could have happened to me education wise.
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I know exactly what you are saying. I know the commotion you're speaking of. It's hard as an expat without having family nearby to help.
Is it not possible moving him to another school perhaps? Although I am a huge fan of homeschooling, I am not sure that it will be an easy task for a working mother. But you will know what's best for your child 😉
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I guess it's a little too late to think about a new school since most admissions are already closed...
Actually, I think what I am trying to say is that I do not want to wake up early in the morning and rush to catch the school bus! lol
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I always wanted to home school but I'm to late. Wish I had communities like that when my kids were growing up.
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I get frowned upon by my friends when I tell them that we want to homeschool our son. They are concerned about the "socialization" factor. But given the school setting these days, where bullying is everywhere, I feel that is not the socialization my child needs. ..
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This is exactly the feedback I am getting.
Here's a little bit of discussion over it
https://cjanellebell.com/2017/06/06/homeschooldebate/comment-page-1/#comment-41
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Thanks for this. Will surely make time to read 😊
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Wow it's a great responsibility. I can see the love you have for your son. I think you made a good decision about the homeschool
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thank you @tj4real. i know it will not be easy, but i would like to give it a shot and later on wouldn't wonder what if...
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Hi! I homeschooled my children for a decade. I worked part-time or not at all during those years. Honestly, I always felt like homeschooling was a full time job in and of itself. I don't think I could have done it and also worked full time. That said, I also consider it one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. It gave us a wonderful amount of freedom with our time, we learned so much together and made incredible memories. I am new to this community and will probably be posting more about our homeschooling experience in the future.
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Thank you for the feedback @denisechips! I really hope to make this work. I also plan to share our homeschooling journey here on steemit (if i would still have the time to write!).
I'm really interested know of your homeschooling journey too - followed you.
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Followed you too! All the best! (And if you don't find a lot of time to write about it, don't beat yourself up. It took me ten years while raising small kids to get together enough of my writing to put together my book Rescuing Supermom
http://joechiappetta.blogspot.com/2011/12/rescuing-supermom-collection-of-essays.html
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Wow! That's something! You are a supermom! 😉
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Haha! Some days...perhaps. Some days perhaps not so much! If you read my book you'll have a few laughs at my expense ;)
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Upvoted . We begin to cherish our parents as soon as we become parents. Love an respect to all moms.
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Thank you. I can't even start to imagine what our parents have gone through raising my sister and I. Parenting is one tough job.
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nice blog, I am sharing it...
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I'm interested in following your journey. I'm a working mom of three who homeschools too! Good luck and can't wait to hear how things go. @beriberi
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Thanks! I am more than anxious to start this new journey, at the same time confident that a lot of support and resources are there for us.
Thanks to steemit I am gaining a lot more acquaintances with similar interests.
See you around!
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I hear your concerns and completely understand where you're coming from. I decided to pull my eldest daughter out of school when she was half-way her first year, I think it would be 9th grade. My younger kids stayed in school till the end of that year and never went back after the summer. I think what gets to a lot of people is the wording 'home school'. Here in Ireland we call it home education and somehow it takes a lot of stress from the task. And that's what it is: it's a kid being educated at home, it is not a school at home. There's a difference.
At the beginning of our journey, I tried to hold myself to a certain curriculum, similar as they would have in school. That completely changed into child led learning after I discovered that my kids show their interests and will focus on that if I give them the right tools and they excel in it! Don't get me wrong, it's not just fun and games all day, because I think subjects like reading, writing and maths are just those that they have to do. But they do it at their own pace and the funny thing is: They love it. My youngest only just started reading in school when i pulled him out and wasn't reading more than three letter words like cat, dog etc. He was 5 years old. Over the summer, he learned to read more and more and not because I was following a curriculum. I can honestly say he was completely reading on his own, with a little help, he taught himself because he wanted to! By the end of the summer he was telling my daughter, who was one year ahead of him, how to spell things!
The same thing happened with maths, he is now one year ahead of his age peers, at the same level as my daughter. But this doesn't mean he's better, or smarter than she is, and I never ever make them feel like that either. My daughter just is a perfectionist, and she loves to practice things over and over until she excels in it. My boy enjoys maths so much that he can't wait until the next lesson and is ahead of things because of that. At first, I was a bit worried my daughter would have issues maybe, but then when she tells me exactly what a grocery bill is coming up to, to the dot, and then exactly to the last penny what I should get back, I know that she has no issues learning these things. I started to lean more and more towards child led, or 'un-schooling' as the time went.
For example: my son will ask me something about the Egyptians and I will tell him as much as I know, and then together we'll explore the subject.
We use creativity, art and even music to get to the point when he is happy he now knows what there is to know.
If the subject is history, we read stories, draw pictures, make things in regards to the subject etc etc. It works like a charm and they never forget this! I could quiz them weeks later or months even and they just know their stuff.
My son loves to paint and draw, but he also loves computers. Because I was trying to show him what art actually is, he discovered animation.
He got really interested in it, because before that he had no clue how cartoons/animations etc. were done.
He's not even 8 years old and now reading and finding everything he can about computer animation. Not because he has to, but because he wants to.
He's taking an online course on animation and does the work for it and is great at it! The course is for teenagers or older!
My youngest son, who just turned 3, was in the kitchen and first counted to 10 in English and then in Dutch. I was flabbergasted, because I never taught him more than up to 5 in either language. I asked the others and they said he learned playing hide and seek with them. So simple, so logical and so natural.
Another thing to keep in mind too is the following:
The part of the brain that controls functions like science or maths only fully develops at a later age, around 18. Of course, there are kids who excel in those subjects at a young age, but lots of others don't. Not because they have lower intelligence, but because naturally they can't grasp the whole subject yet. And seen the fact that most schools have such emphasis on these kind of subjects rather than subjects that are already fully developed like: art, music etc. the school system in most places is set up for children to fail.
Coming back to the young children that excel in subjects like maths. Of course it's great, and wiz kids can be found in either setting, school and home. But just think of this: what if this maths wiz would have had more opportunity to explore other subjects like music or art?
Maybe instead of a maths wiz, you'd have a child that paints like Leonardo da Vinci. And maybe not, but he or she would have had the chance to figure that out, instead of being placed in the box of 'excellent maths student'.
Like a few others have said: I would love to follow your journey, and I am here if you have questions or doubts. I'm going to follow you because I'm interested and would like to help.
Enjoy your journey!
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I am totally overwhelmed by the response, thank you so much! I have gained more confidence on our decision now that I have been shared first hand advices and experiences. Knowing that I will not be alone just makes me feel "braver". I am now in the process of "conditioning" my son to the tought of homeschooling - ensuring him that it would be much more fun than regular school. We've got a long way to go and I am anxious (or say, excited) to start this new phase of our life.
I will try my best to share our journey.
Following you back. See you around @misslasvegas!
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I'm happy to help, or even just listen. You will do great! Because you're doing it for the best reasons. How many people would take the school's word for it and think that the problem of behavioural issues lie with the child and not the school. I mean we've all heard people say: He was just difficult in school; when it really was the school that created his behaviour. What I did with my eldest was I didn't right away dive into the 'work' with her. I let her do her thing for a bit, for months really. We'd do stuff together like cook, talk, or just plain 'be' but no 'school' stuff. I wanted to get her out of the school state of mind. And it took a while, but that's because she's been in the school system longer (13). Your son is younger, so probably won't need that long. But I'd advise you to go for walks, play or whatever makes him happy, but do it together if possible. And then you will instinctively know what he needs and he will be open to tell you what he would LOVE to do. I wish you all the best with this, you got this mommy!
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There is no need for put your kids in a goverment school. Some of my friends here in Thailand home school there kids that give them real life view match better than time and money spent on school. This kids is match smarter than normal public school kids.
Them also speak 3 language in age of 8. This other kids Thai public school kids is still playing with toys and dolls.....
Amazing this world....
Keep doing what feels right for you....
Best regards // @mrstaf
Will follow your account, please follow me at @mrstaf
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Thanks for that word of encouragement @mrstaf
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