Homeschoolers- why?

Seraph

Mon, May 18 2009, 3:47 pm

If you chose to homeschool, why?

Cost?
No local jewish school?
Special needs of a child that local schools can't meet?
Not accepted to any local schools?
Local schools have the wrong hashkafa?
Belief that most kids learn better in a non school setting? AKA hashkafic homeschooling.

I was homeschooled for a year as was my sister because we had a special need that our local school couldn't meet.

yaelinIN

Tue, May 19 2009, 10:56 am

We homeschool because the closest school (which we do not find hashkafically acceptable) is one hour away, we like to impart our derech on our kids and our children can receive an education of the type we want for them. Our rabbi agrees with us and did homeschool his kids for a year as well.

Imma

Tue, May 19 2009, 1:53 pm

What about the children's social life? when do they get a chance to be with friends, and learn all that a school and a classroom can offer? (I do understand that if anything comes in with frumkiet, that's first, but for other reasons e.x. distance - is hard to understand).

yaelinIN

Tue, May 19 2009, 2:37 pm

Depending on where one lives, homeschooled children might have opportunities to interact with other frum children. Shluchim and kiruv families may not have this ability. A family may not want their children to only interact with frum children (of course there are positives and negatives to being in such an environment). Not every community has the type of people you want your children to be around. Sometimes it is far better for your children to know that they are frum children when there is a stark difference between them and their peers.

Our school day is MUCH shorter than any school/cheder I know of and we still meet or (almost always far exceed) what is grade level for my children, so we have more time to "be social" and we can pick up and go away when we feel like it (like right now -- we are visiting their grandparents for two weeks).

As far as what a classroom/school offers, a person can quickly learn to raise their hand to ask to go to the bathroom, get on line to eat lunch and sit quietly through talks by other people in many different ways. Smile

ruthla

Sun, May 31 2009, 7:12 pm

Numerous reasons, so I voted "other":

When I first pulled DD2 out of school, it's because she had special needs that no school could accomodate. BH, she's matured a lot and outgrown some of those issues, and plans to return to school next year. I know other families who have removed their children from this particular yeshiva and put them into public school due because the children have special needs.

I plan to homeschool DS next year for numerous reasons, but primarily because of cost. The local yeshiva he's been attending will no longer work with me on financial assistance, not unless I first send them more money than I have available. I probably could keep on trying to make it work out, seek out other sources of assistance, etc, but frankly it's not worth it. He's NOT doing well in this school. He's picking up HORRIBLE middos, and building up a resentment towards Torah. I'd hate to see him go OTD in a few years because of the way Yiddeshkeit has been presented in school.

So now it's a choice between homeschooling and public school, and why should I put him in a secular school if I have any other options?

mamacita

Sun, May 31 2009, 11:13 pm

Our current community is kinda tricky. As far as I'm concerned there is no Jewish school here. There is some sort of preschool/kinder at the JCC on the other side of town, but if they aren't kosher it presents too many difficulties for me to shlep all the way out there to have my kids attend.

We'll be moving soon, hopefully to a community with more options. Even then, cost may mean we'll continue homeschooling. My college education costs less than some of the yeshivot I've seen!!

btMOMtoFFBs

Mon, Jun 01 2009, 6:30 am

we aren't homeschooling now, but we keep talking about it. Mostly for two reasons...

1. The loooong day that little children have away from home in a dual-curriculum school (lv house at 8 - come home at 4)

2. b/c DH and I can teach the material with more depth and efficiency than our children get in school, leaving more time for kids playing and being kids and having more family time.

A very few families here send their kids to yeshiva for limudei kodesh in the morning and homeschool for secular studies in the afternoon.

I would LOOOVE to do that if we can ever make it work.

Starhavah

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 12:07 am

btMOMtoFFBs wrote:

A very few families here send their kids to yeshiva for limudei kodesh in the morning and homeschool for secular studies in the afternoon.

I would LOOOVE to do that if we can ever make it work.

BTMomtoFFBs where do you live? I would LOVE that option!

amother

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 12:35 am

Starhavah wrote:

btMOMtoFFBs wrote:

A very few families here send their kids to yeshiva for limudei kodesh in the morning and homeschool for secular studies in the afternoon.

I would LOOOVE to do that if we can ever make it work.

BTMomtoFFBs where do you live? I would LOVE that option!

We told the schools here that we are taking my son out to homeschool him. We move often and had done it before in a previous city. After much talk with the the administration here they have decided to allow 1/2 days - not across the board, but in certain cases. The down side is they are still asking for full tuition because they will agree for academic reasons, but not for financial ones.
I was asking to have my son in Judaics, but other families wanted the secular and to homeschool Judaics bec its a MO community day school

(Anon bec people in my town know my story and I dont want to give away my screen name)

Seraph

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 1:59 am

btMOMtoFFBs wrote:

A very few families here send their kids to yeshiva for limudei kodesh in the morning and homeschool for secular studies in the afternoon.

I was homeschooled for limudei chol and went to school for limudei kodesh in the morning.
My parents were offered a partial scholarship, and when my parents decided to take out me and my sister for limudei chol, my parents had to pay the same amount as if we were there the full day. No discounts for half day us.
If you're homeschooling for hashkafic reasons/because the school doesnt offer what your kids need, it may work. If its for financial reasons, it might not. It solved the socialization issue for us though.
The reasons my parents did so (pay the same amount but not send us for secular subjects) was because the school didnt offer what we needed in terms of secular studies, but offered what we needed for judaic studies.

creativemommyto3

Sun, Jul 05 2009, 2:29 am

Starhavah wrote:

btMOMtoFFBs wrote:

A very few families here send their kids to yeshiva for limudei kodesh in the morning and homeschool for secular studies in the afternoon.

I would LOOOVE to do that if we can ever make it work.

BTMomtoFFBs where do you live? I would LOVE that option!

Israel!!! The kids come home from school at 1:30 ...starts becoming 230 in 2nd grade.. but I am trying to at least let them start by doing workbooks in english.