Speaking from a homeschool 12th grader:::

I love homeschooling. I went to public school from 2nd grade- 8th grade but have found homeschooling to benefit in many, many ways. But, it also depends if you are going to be able to devote the time needed to teach your child(ren).

If you choose homeschooling, research the different textbooks, etc and get advice from other homeschooling families. Most areas have homeschool co-ops and there are online message boards and email loops.

Every child is unique and that includes their learning styles (When my younger sister and I came home from public school, my older brother stayed in it. Everyone has different needs). Some books you can buy dvd lectures for or buy audio cds which help enhance the learning experience. I know in the state of North Carolina, when a homeschooler turns 16, the child may take classes at the local community college as long as they are still taking two classes at home (free tution at the comm. college until high school graduation- however, the books are still pricey). Right now, I have 16 college credits out of the way (and that is only from my junior year of high school).

As far as the people who say that homeschoolers are “unsocialized,” I disagree. Children can join all sorts of other activities where they interact with others. Co-ops can also help overcoming this. Overall, the decision is what setting you choose to place your child into and whether or not you can devote time to teaching. I hope my advice can help you. Have a blessed day and I hope you’re lead into the right decision.

Homeschooling

1. National Home Education Network

2. Help Your Child Explore Science

3. Natural Child Project

4. Family Unschoolers Network

5. Homeschool Groups

6. The Highschool Homeschooling Page

7. Homeschool Headlines

8. Home School Teachers Lounge

9. The Home School Zone

http://www.fi.edu/tfi/hotlists/education.html

HOME SCHOOLING.

http://www.homeschool.com/

http://www.hslda.org

http://homeschooling.about.com/od/curriculum/Homeschool_Curriculum.htm

http://www.homefires.com/

Homeschool.com also has the following information available free of charge:

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/index.html

http://www.home-schooling-advice.net/

http://www.canteach.ca/links/linkhomeschool.html

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi

http://www.teachnlearn.org/index.htm

http://www.fi.edu/tfi/hotlists/education.html

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/TeacherZone.asp

http://www.highlightskids.com/

http://www.youcanhomeschool.org/starthere/default.asp

Public School was never an option for me. When my daughter was first placed with me (I adopted from foster care) I was considering private since I am single. She was enrolled in head start at the time and her teachers and social worker all said she was probably slow. She didn’t talk to the other kids much and was biting.

Fortunately I am a freelance technical writer. It pays well and my schedule can change to meet the needs of my daughter and myself. As soon as the adoption was finalized I pulled her from head start and cut back on my work load for a while. I took her to some specialists and found out that she has Asperger’s Syndrome.

The last six months have been great. My daughter is thriving. She is enrolled in tumbling, group occupational therapy, and we go to church, so she gets to spend time with other kids. I see no reason to send her back into an institutionalized setting when she reaches school age.

I am going to use a mix of classical education curricula, because the focus is on developing skills which will help her with lifelong learning rather than on memorizing information.

The best way to decide is by reading about each and then making your decision. I decided because I started trying to find evidence against homeschooling; I couldn’t find it. Once I realized all of the options that homeschooling allows it just seemed so right.

You do need to decided what your reasons and goals are for educating your children. Our reasons for homeschooling include: we want their love of learning to be nurtured; we want them to learn that being able to find the answer is just as important as knowing it; we want them to model their behavior and values on their family rather than their peer group; we want to be able to adjust the learning environment to meet their individual abilities, interests, and personalities; and so are children will learn about life from living it, no just studying it. Our goals are to give them what they need to grow into happy, responsible, and giving adults and teach them basic life skills in addition to preparing them for college. I do not believe that public or private school could stack up to that.

Our reasons and goals are reflected in the way we homeschool. We do a minimal amount of sit down work through age 10 and only in math, reading, and vocabulary. Everything else is interest and opportunity led. We play games, go on field trips, and do various activities alone and with friends. After age 10 we plan to add more structured subjects in preparation for college, but I’ve realized that there’s just not enough time in the world to learn everything. I feel that you’re better off covering the basics and leaving plenty of time for children to explore things that they find relevant.

Other homeschoolers have different reasons, goals, and ways for educating their children. But I can guarantee they all do it in a way that most public schools never would or could. And if you ever really sit down and study the development of the public school system you will have a hard time sending your child there unless you have to.

You have to decide what is best for your child and your family. A child reaching his/her highest potential is important, but exactly what that statement means is unique to each individual.

If you would like to teach your child about God, morals, values, and character, then homeschooling is definitely a better option than public school. Your child will not learn these things at public school. Many say they can teach their child all of these attributes and send them to public school. However, you need to realize that most of a school child’s waking hours are spent at school and what he/she learns there influences him/her greatly.

If you would like for you and your husband to be a greater influence in your child’s life than his/her peers, this is another good reason to homeschool. If you would like your child to master concepts before moving on to the next one or to explore and do more hands on kind of projects, field trips, etc., this is yet another good reason to homeschool.

I think the most important reason to homeschool for Christian homeschoolers is the biblical mandate to train and teach your child. God did not designate this responsbility to anyone other than the child’s family. There are others who will teach/train your child in certain areas/subjects, but the parents should do most of the training. It does not take a village to raise a child, it takes two dedicated and loving parents.

I am a single (divorced) mother who receives no assistance from my child’s father, yet I know that I am responsbile for training/rearing my child. This is why I homeschool.

it doesn’t have anything to do with do you think you can teach better it has to do with is there a reason to home school does your child have an illness is your school not doing things they should be doing do you as many other parents feel that homeschooling is better any one can home school with a program try www.k12.com most awesome program and awesome teachers it takes the worry out of homeschooling if after 1 year you don’t like it home school on your own your community has many options for home schools start at your local library you education dept for the state check in to other parents who home school in your area they can be great support don’t be scared it is easy and you are very qualified to teach it is fun but not all like it try it and see you ll know if it is for you good luck

I am a Home Schooling parent and have been for the last 9 years. Choosing to home school wasn’t hard. I looked at the public school system from several points. Number 1 There are more children quitting school because of the lack of time for each child. There is also the fact that you can’t send your child to school and know that they are going to be safe. To many things goes on in a public school that should not. First of all you should look at the safety of your children.

If you are focusing strictly on the academics, then you’d have to look at your own ability to learn and guide your children, your willingness to look for, and purchase, suitable resources, etc. Homeschooling *can* provide a stronger education than public school *if* the parents ensure that it does. It’s not going to happen on its own.

How *can* homeschooling provide a better education? By allowing the student to work at his own pace, which allows him to master basic concepts and skills before moving on, but also allows the more advanced student to be challenged and move onto content that wouldn’t be covered in school for that grade; by allowing the student to have more one-on-one assistance, which anybody would have to admit is good; by removing a lot of things that take up time in the schools (waiting for everybody to be ready with their books and sharpened pencils, waiting for everybody to stop speaking, waiting for everybody to finish asking their questions, etc.), time is more focused and the student can accomplish more; by being able to provide the student with the means in which he learns best. Essentially, homeschooling allows for parents to completely tailor the academics to their child which will, of course, provide for a better education when/if they follow through on it.

Other things to look at are the quality of the schools, the social climate, etc. If a school is rejoicing that 50% passed the reading tests last year, you might think twice about that school–your kids will be going to school all day then you’ll need to spend the evenings tutoring them to make sure they get the education they deserve. If a school has an excellent reputation educationally, combined with the parent not feeling super confident about their ability to make sure their child gets a good education, then that’d be a good school to pick. If the social climate is really bad, this will detract from the education provided. And if public school is chosen, parents need to make sure they are very involved to increase the chances of their child’s success.

How I picked between them was simply that one day, I realized I didn’t want my children in the public school system when they were young. (I was a public school elementary teacher.) My junior high-teaching husband saw everything that went on among the kids at his school and he didn’t want our kids in the school system, at least not until high school. We still did our research to make sure it was a good idea and made the final decision when it was time to register for gr. 1. We have no regrets whatsoever.

as far as education i didnt get much of one when i was homeschooled because my mom didnt have the time but if u have time and have good books for the right age level the u can get a way better education in homeschool cuz u dont have to listen or wait for all the otehr kids its just u and or brothers or sisters

What type of learners are they?

What is your educational philosophy?

What are your family goals and life style?

Those would be the first 3 questions that you should consider.

The best method would be the method that would teach them the most. Children are not all alike.

How do they reach their highest learning potential? I would think it would be in relaxed and comfortable surroundings with freedom to discover and explore at their own pace.