Considering Homeschooling

yaelinIN

Thu, Nov 26 2015, 10:10 pm

amother wrote:

I'm loving all these replies, I'm amazed at all of you!
Keep them coming Very Happy

Were any of you insecure at some point about what you were doing? And usually how much would it cost to homeschool( books,cultural trips, etc)?

I have been and will always have a thread of that, but it is the same thread that wonders if putting my oldest in a yeshiva school isn't a mistake or that any choice I make for them is the "right" one. I'm sure there are people out there who are absolutely sure everything they do is 10000% right; that's not me.

Homeschooling can cost as little or as much as you can handle. We include all the music lessons, martial arts lessons, swim lessons, books, museum trips, rebbes, etc, etc in how much we pay - I'm guessing 7K for all 3-4 kids (even the one in high school is still doing music and martial arts).

yaelinIN

Thu, Nov 26 2015, 10:12 pm

Dolly Welsh wrote:

Any remarks about how you finesse and schedule, so you can take care of schooling all of them? Do you group by similar ages?

I am rather "schooly", so I design some subjects to be self-taught and some for one on one interaction/teaching. I rotate through the three kids and work one on one while the other two do something that doesn't need me. I don't group any subjects (except Japanese, which we haven't done this year so far) for any of my kids - more work in some ways but easier in others.

chavs

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 4:53 am

optimist wrote:

can you give some examples?

We use mathswhizz for maths, we used readingeggs for my son to learn to read, aren't using it for my daughter as it's not working for her (she's dyslexic), we are currently using time4learning as a fuller curriculum as it has language arts, maths, social studies and science.
Kodesh, my husband and I do with them not using the computer as we tried several programmes and found none were good.

I agree homeschooling can cost as much or as little as you wish, most home ed groups are free but we also do horse riding, swimming, karate, brownies and a Jewish after school club that costs money.

My husband works and I'm home with the kids but I know someone who works in the evenings and another person who childminds, both homeschool. Some ppl have small businesses on the side making things and selling as well.

chaiz

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 5:25 am

chavs wrote:

I know families where the dad is home with the kids and the mum works ft as well btw. It can be done.

Are the families frum? NOT at all implying that it is not frum or goes anything against Torah. It is more that it is unconventional in general that the father be the stay at home parent in the frum community. I am mostly chareidi and would strongly consider this option in a few years. It is good to know that it is done specifically in the frum community.

HappytoHS

Sat, Nov 28 2015, 12:46 pm

I thought I'd go back and answer some questions I haven't fully answered.

amother wrote:

do you have a group of homeschoolers so the kids can make friends outside the family circle? Are you enjoying homeschooling? What are some advantages and disadvantages that you found so far?Any regrets?

We do have a great group of homeschoolers that we get together with. 2 groups, actually. The wider group is very diverse and our kids have made some wonderful friends and learned some very important values, but most are not local so they get together less frequently. Locally we have a smaller group of wonderful families that are more similar to each other and we get together more regularly. Our kids also have lots of friends who don't homeschool, from when they were in school, from their after school activities and youth groups, from shul and from the neighborhood. Our 5 year old who's always been homeschooled collects friends at the park like other kids collect stickers. She's got a very full social calendar Wink

.

For the most part, we are enjoying homeschooling a lot, with some challenges along the way and one teen who would like to go back to school (she is ready for more structure now and also feels that her group of friends is moving on without her and it's hard to get together because they are always busy with schoolwork). We are supporting her decision and are working on it. All the rest, including my husband and me, really love homeschooling.

The main advantage of homeschooling for us is the freedom to raise our family with our own values and hashkafot. There are so many more advantage including social, emotional and educational. Some of the disadvantages I've mentioned re my daughter above. It's also a lot of work, at least the way we do it, so I have very little time for myself (but that could just be a function of my family size and I wouldn't necessarily have more me time if they were in school). My husband and I do make time for each other a priority.

My biggest regret is not having started homeschooling sooner. It took a few years to convince my husband, but once I did he's been 1000% supportive and very involved.

HappytoHS

Sat, Nov 28 2015, 2:17 pm

Dolly Welsh wrote:

Any remarks about how you finesse and schedule, so you can take care of schooling all of them? Do you group by similar ages?

For some subjects the kids work independently, some we group by age, others by interest and other subjects we do all together. We make good use of mealtimes and evenings with Abba and Shabbos. My husband learns text-based kodesh subjects with them one on one/two in the evenings.

Last edited by HappytoHS on Sat, Nov 28 2015, 2:32 pm; edited 1 time in total

HappytoHS

Sat, Nov 28 2015, 2:31 pm

amother wrote:

Were any of you insecure at some point about what you were doing?

Like Yael, I have the same insecurities that every parent has about any parenting decision. We are constantly reassessing and reevaluating for the family as a whole and for each child.

amother wrote:

And usually how much would it cost to homeschool( books,cultural trips, etc)?

I couldn't give you a figure but it can vary very widely. We are definitely spending a lot less than the cost of tuition in the US and even possibly less than Israeli tuition, calculating high school costs. But our library system here is not like in the US so we buy a lot of books - I mean a LOT - that you can probably find at your library. We also do things like ballet, gymnastics and music lessons and take family trips.

granolamom

Wed, Dec 23 2015, 11:51 pm

amother wrote:

I keep flirting with the idea of homeschooling. Dc has been experiencing teasing and I am considering homeschooling. Before doing that, I thought I should gather information about others who are already homeschooling.For those who homeschool, do you have a group of homeschoolers so the kids can make friends outside the family circle? Are you enjoying homeschooling? What are some advantages and disadvantages that you found so far?Any regrets? Thanks!

I havent had the chance to read through the entire thread but I wanted to quickly chime in hee.
I'm currently homeschooling three of my kids, ages 12, 8,6
BH this year we have a nice group of local-ish frum kids. its awesome. socialization is not about quantity, imo, but quality. my kids have fewer peers and fewer opportunities to be with those peers but their interactions are mentchlach and respectful and mutually inspired. there is of course a larger group of secular homeschoolers, we join up for some activities, events and classes. I think that's great too, my kids are learning to interact with people who arent exactly like them, and I'm right there incase they feel awkward or if things start to take a turn I dont love.

I love homeschooling.

biggest drawback for me is that I'm an introvert and I no longer have much time alone. even when my kids are in another room its not the same, I crave alone time in my house. even going out alone is not the same for me.

biggest advantage is that my kids are happy and thriving, and that I really feel that my time is well spent. even on the days when I lack confidence and wonder if I'm doing enough etc I still can go to bed knowing that I spent the day connecting with my kids.
my only regret was not starting sooner. (I pulled my kids out of school at various ages, my 6 yo is the only one who is lucky enough to start in first grade).