Our Family homeschools too!! It's such a rewarding choice for the entire family..Best of Luck on your journey!!

any programs you like in particular (we”ll be secular homeschooling)?

Hi Kristen! I am really interested in following your blog to see what your ideas are on schooling when the time comes. I don't know what I am going to do for schooling…they all have ups and downs about them… I just know my experiences in public school were terrible and I went to some bad schools with some pretty terrible teachers. My husband went to private school and he missed out on sciences completely. I've known some people who did home schooling but their kids had social issues (i.e. being extremely withdrawn or shy) because they just stayed home all day. So I am very interested in the subject…

Do you think you would also do any group activities like having a home schooling group of some sort once in awhile or enrolling in activities? Do you have any thoughts on that yet? I know it is early hahaa!

I think groups and extracurricular activities are important indeed

And… we've been researching it since before I got pregnant!

Oh I know..you've mentioned it before (previous post) but I didn't want to ask assuming you had everything planned out. It's a good thing to have a game plan now rather than last minute deciding when the child is ready for schooling.

I think homeschooling can be a great and rewarding idea.. and especially with the added benefit of groups and activities :) I am glad you are blogging about your ideas on this! I find it very helpful.

Cool! Glad you're interested. I have to say though… that the more we
research, the more we realize we don't know exactly what we'll do! lol
So many options, which is great, but almost overwhelming. I'd love to
hear what others are doing and what they like.

We are looking forward to homeschooling our little girl too! And we've been thinking about it before we got pregnant. I was homeschooled through the 8th grade and thought it was very rewarding. I am anxious to see the ideas that you have towards the subject.

Excellent! Do you mind if I ask why you stopped at 8th grade?

We have 5 children and we homeschool!! It is the best for us. Our children needed to grow at their speed academically, not at the speed of traditional schools. They would have been dumbed down big time…smart little cookies. We love the freedom!! You have something very special to look forward to.
Peace,
Elizabeth

That video was very cute, thanks for sharing! I myself am so thankful my parents didn't homeschool me because I loved school, learned a ton, had an awesome social life, joined clubs, lettered in lots of sports, etc. so I feel I would have missed out on those things. I have a very sweet young lady that works for me who is homeschooled and she enjoys it as she didn't have as great of an experience in school as I did so whatever works! She's very smart and works well with adults, but has issues with girls her own age.

Thanks for sharing. Homeschool offers many opportunities for groups
and social activities. It can be as many or as few as desired. Just
depends on the individual.

Well remember..you can always try something and then change what you are doing.. so it is not set in stone. You might find what you plan out isn't what she wants or what works best… so as everything in parenting I assume it will be a “see what works” deal as it happens. I am sure it will all work out for the best and Kamea will be very well educated whatever route you take her!

Totally agree!

More power to you! I love the idea of homeschooling but just don't think I have it in me. I will have to revisit after we've tried out the public schools in our area.

I looked at a bunch of different schooling philosophies, and I do think you will learn more about what you want when you learn about the nature of your daughter's personality and what works for her. And you have several years to figure that out before you have to do “real” schooling! Meanwhile, she will be learning every day.

We are sending my daughter to a Reggio Emilio style preschool next year. I love the philosophy — it is basically learning through the child's experience. So maybe they express an interest in what happens to the parts of the carrot you don't eat, and the teacher guides them on a project where they watch it decompose over time. Or they build structures with blocks or Legos. Or other play-based methods (in preschool, anyway). It is very child driven, and at least at the RE schools around here there is a lot of focus on spending time outdoors.

Another program I was interested in is Enki. It is a nature-based homeschooling program similar to Waldorf, but I think without the Christian spiritual aspect.

Have you read or heard about the book You Are Your Child's First Teacher? It starts with infant days, an interesting resource that can be used during the early years. Last Child in the Woods talks about the importance of outdoor play, which I think is a critical part of education.

Homeschooling seems so rewarding! I know so many people who do it, and I think it can benefit the kids so much, especially if you can find a supportive community around you. People talk about the socialization aspect like you are locking your kids up in the house and having traditional classes around a desk, but I really don't think most homeschoolers do that — they are out in the world socializing with all sorts of people of all different ages, not just an unrealistically distributed group of same-age students and an adult. I think I have heard that some places that will offer classes for homeschoolers (sometimes at a discount), like roller skating, martial arts, or other interesting activities.

Great comment. Thanks for taking the time to share.

Cute! Yes, this our first year homeschooling. Looking forward to it. Might be hard though with a 2 year old, and an infant while I'm homeschooling the 5 yewar old. Oh well…good times!
xoxo

I stopped at the 8th grade because I started getting really interested in science and the school I went to offered a lot of really cool different AP and CP science classes. My mom felt that was something she just couldn't handle. It would've been really expensive and (messy) to deal with all of the lab equipment that was needed.

I really did enjoy high school though and am happy to have had both experiences.

Thx for sharing!

very cool!

We are considering homeschooling too. But we also love Waldorf Schools. Our son is starting preschool at a Waldorf school her in London in November. Are you familiar? So home-like, and peaceful – all natural, wood toys, organic snacks. Love it!

I was homeschooled my whole life and am now 31 years old. I'm extremely thankful that my parents chose to homeschool me. I also learned a ton, had/have a great social life, was a part of clubs and sports. I do not feel like I missed out on anything. Actually I feel the opposite!