Questions and Answers
- Why choose Home Schooling?
- I didn't go through pregnancy and labour just to have someone else raise my kids for me. :) There's a sense of family that is completely lost in our society: as promised in marriage vows, our family understands the for-better-and-for-worse aspect that can be lost by spending more than half your waking time away from each other.
Not to mention the benefits of a tailored education....
- This year will be our 10th year of homeschooling. I'm with the kids everyday and there is still not enough time to do it all. We hold our memories of our freedom days of learning close to our hearts and enjoy our family closeness that has made us all stronger.
- Freedom to learn and grow however our souls takes us. Going after your passions in life, having the courage to pursue your dreams are what we want for our children. I want to protect our kids' childhood years and be there to support them in their learning as much as I can while I have them.
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- What do you do on a typical day, week or month?
- A typical day for us has about 4 1/2 hours of book or lab work. Pure "schooling", which covers between 4 to 6 subjects. And lunch and a walk takes us another 2 hours. But then the atypical days, when someone is ill, or something better comes up, or the day just isn't working, we can change things to an afternoon of photography or painting, or cuddling together in the big bed and reading to each other. If a subject is of particular interest one day, we don't have to stop working on it because it's time to do something else.
- A typical day --
the older ones have book work. Daily math, reading and writing are a must but I let the kids decide when they will get their work done. If they don't get it done during the day they have it for homework during the evening or weekend.
Our younger ones need time with mom while the older ones get their work done since they can not read yet. I offer them a set of activities and they choose what they would like to do unless they want me to follow their lead.
The kids all have to help with the housework, preparing meals, and taking care of each other. Some have daily piano practice but all have extra curricular lessons outside our home which means I end up working a full 12-16 day with them most days. (Except for our 2 year old but at 3 she can go to classes without mom.)
- For us, there is no typical day or week (year maybe). Most of the structure to our lives comes from the programs the kids choose at the start of each "school" year. I try and see to it that they get a variety of types of experiences (physical, mental, creative, etc.). We discuss possible field trips, activities and themes; etc. to follow for the days where we're feeling less inspired. Sometimes the themes take over and we end up with what looks like a unit study.
On Sunday evening before bed, I write out on the whiteboard in their bedroom a list of things we'd all like to do/get done during the next week, then we loosely assign each item a day of the week depending on the item and outside activities, errands etc. This becomes our week's schedule. Everyone knows what to expect and when. Things usually get done that need to be done, and everyone's needs are considered.
My goals are to teach the kids to make their own decisions, take responsibility for those decisions, become self-sufficient at most things and think for themselves. I want them to follow their passions so that they know who they are and what they want to do as they mature. This means that much of the learning is hands-on, child-directed and pretty close to unschooled. Skills such as meal preparation, knitting, sewing, wilderness camping, map and compass skills, stellar navigation, growing a vegetable garden, etc. are part of our learning as well as more traditional school subjects.
We don't tend to sit around the kitchen table with curriculum created by strangers. But I do have academic bouts every few months during which we take a look of academics out of context until I come to my senses again. The kids pick it up better in a context where it has meaning for them.
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- What happens if you take children out of the government's school system?
- We took our two children out of the Catholic system when they had just finished Kindergarten and Grade 2. I wrote a letter to the schoolboard and the school informing them of my "intention to homeschool". The school sent me suggestions for teaching, testing, etc. They haven't contacted us since.
The teachers were fairly supportive when we left, all of them wishing us the best of luck in homeschooling.
- Never been in the system and they have never contacted us. We would like to keep it that way.
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- What are the legal implication of homeschooling in Ontario?
- Please note: The Mississauga Home School group is a support group for parents who homeschool. We are not lawyers and we are in no position to offer any sort of legal advice. The Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents (OFTP) has excellent resources to cover this questions, specially the legalities if that concerns you.
For a personal observation, this has never been an issue for us or anyone we know. We hear that it used to be many years ago, but things have changed significantly over the last 10 years.
- ...might it be helpful to just add the section from the Act [that covers education had home schooling (ed.)] first, and also a link to the PPM131 page on the OFTP site? That might be all visitors need, and it would help them to find what they need right away.
- [From the OFTP Home page:] The most important change in School Board / Home Education relations in Ontario in the last number of years is Policy/Program Memorandum 131.
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- What are some disadvantages or challenges of Home Schooling ?
- On long days, I feel like I will never get to be with adults again. One expects to feel like that when the kids are toddlers, but not so much when they're older. One more discussion about digestive gas, and I swear....
- If I don't take regular breaks or schedule down time for mom I'm worn down and want to ship them all to school. Extended family and homeschooling community supports have saved me many times. So far so good but long days with 5 kids ill or feeling ill myself are very tough.
Our house is often cluttered with schooling stuff but as the kids grow older they can be trained to raise their standards of cleanliness. Our youngest finally stopped drawing on the walls so as she grows up the more time I can devote to house stuff. (Did I just say that? ;-) -- No point in hiring anyone to clean up after us...why take the learning opportunity away.)
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- What are the Best Home Schooling books or resources you have found?
- Homeschooling For Dummies - it has a great bibliography.
- I like the Well Trained Mind even though I have never followed their plan word for word. I appreciate their thoroughness and can count on that book for new ideas.
- Speaking of books, have a look at the Books page on this site
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- How do home Schooled kids socialize?
- Fine; the killer question. It's more like, "when don't they socialise?" Between drop-ins, field trips, extra-curricular activities, playdates, church, youth group, just-popping-outside-to-talk-to-so-and-so, and my daughter with the telephone permanently attached to her ear, I would like a little time to do some schoolwork!
- When do homeschooling kids stop socializing?
With the evolution of e-mail and Internet games homeschooled kids can socialize any time.
Our 5 kids socialize with each other and definitely have enough extra curricular activities to meet kids their own age. Weekends are still mainly spent with family and there is never enough time for playdates.
Homeschooling support groups rock! Nothing like that feeling of community and that other families treasure their time with their children like ourselves.
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My son's best friend is a a boy some 2 1/2 years younger than he is, who lives more than an hour away. They never went to the same school, and wouldn't be in the same grade, in any case. My daughter doesn't really have a best friend, but plays with absolutely *anyone* of *any* age (although she does appreciate the good handful of homeschooled girls close to her in age).
One option is to start hanging out with home schoolers and having your kids make friends with the kids their own age who are going to be homeschooled. We have several families with kids the of various ages. But, remember, kids are naturally social, and will make friends despite all circumstances.
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- Do you use formal testing as part of your home schooling?
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We "test" our kids because we feel they need to know how to handle a
test - studying and writing. I deliberately write a variety of tests
for each unit so that by the end of the year, they've written two or
three of each kind of test (multiple choice, short answer, long answer,
T/F, etc.) I can usually predict precisely the mark they'll get, but
the process is what we're interested in.
However, should you need to actually keep track of how your child is doing, there are Achievement Levels for each grade
on the Ontario Curriculum website. This is the link for the language
section, and you just scroll down for the achievement level chart:
Achievement Levels: Language, Grades 1-8
If you're not too hot on writing tests, Chapters sell workbooks that
come with mid-way tests, quizzes, and a final test already in the book.
You can get workbooks for just about every subject. Wal-mart also has
workbooks, which are fairly cheap. Quizzes (frequently free) can also
be found on the internet through Google; download the quiz first, and
then plan your unit around it.
The Mississauga Library System has any number of school books,
including the MathQuest series (the one they used to use in the public
system). These have quizzes and "refresher" pages which you could use
as tests. They also have grammar books, and punctuation books, etc.
Usborne prints a lot of these.
This website is the Unit Planner for the Ontario Curriculum. It has
ideas for projects and "tasks".
http://ocup.org/units
Places like Scholar's Choice have teachers' supplies like grade
books, so you can chart progress a little more easily. Chapters has a
section for teachers, as well, with coursebooks for each unit, complete
with tests and projects; these are more expensive than the
Wal-mart-variety workbook, but are intended for use in the public system
and are very thorough.
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I do not do any testing. While my son is learning everyday, I see his
progress and understanding and I feel that testing is unnecessary.
Really, I believe in the younger grades, that testing and homework is to
help the teacher to see whether the 30 or so children in the classroom
understand what she is teaching. She/he needs a way to keep track of the
children and be able to report back.
You now have the freedom to make the learning environment whatever you
desire.
If when you are outside you see that a grasshopper appears to float on
wings for a short period before he lands safely back on the ground and your
son turns to you and asks "why can't humans jump like that?" (This just
happened to us today). You can pick up your resource books or search the
internet and study the phenomenal ability that grasshoppers have to jump to
extreme heights and appear to float while they are doing this.
You can study what your child is fascinated by. You will be amazed by how
much they retain when they are given the opportunity to study something they
are interested in and not the rigid themed program that the classroom is
studying.
In time, you will see how much your child will shine, that you will know
that a stopwatch testing system is unnecessary.
At some point, when a child is reentering the school system, or university,
or going out into the workforce, I believe a child should be taught some
form of testing, so that they have an understanding of what it is and how to
conduct themselves.
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- How can I teach subjects that I do not know well, such as French or Math?
- You'd be surprised what you can teach yourself the night before you teach your kids. :)
The Mississauga Library has many books, tapes, videos, etc., for teaching French, so you're not likely to
find it too difficult. Sometimes, someone will organize French classes for the whole group. I think Parks and Rec.
also has classes... or, maybe it was offered through the libraries.
- One of the advantages of belonging to groups is that there is always someone that has skills you don't. Chances are
you also have skills others would find useful. Besides that, libraries, the Internet and many other sources are available
to help you figure out what you need to know.
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- Can home schooled children succeed?
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Home-schooling in the modern world: Success of home-schooled children
By Shaunti Feldhahn, Syndicated Columnist, The Seattle Times
Like many critics, I used to feel vaguely sorry for home-schooled kids. What a shame, I thought, that they might be deprived of the well-rounded education and social skills to become integrated, productive members of society. I never thought to question why cafeteria food fights or the predatory pack habits of teenage girls would be better for molding productive members of society.
This uninformed, critical opinion lasted precisely until I met my first home-schooled children several years ago. Within one month I met five home-schooling families, and their 13 children were among the most polite, well-adjusted, socially adept and academically advanced kids I'd ever seen. Being home-educated seemed to have given them a confidence and maturity - and yes, social skill - far beyond their years. They had many friends, but didn't seem dependent on their peers for approval - a far cry from what I remember as a kid.
I've since learned that these kids were not the home-schooling exception but the rule, which makes me wonder how anyone could look at the data and say it deprives kids of anything. In a landmark study by Dr. Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute, among 7,000 young adults who had been home-schooled, 74 percent had attained some college courses, compared with just 46 percent of other young adults - and 82 percent said they would home-school their own kids. On the social front, almost twice as many home-schooled adults as those in the general population were active in their community (71 percent to 37 percent) and "very happy" with life (59 percent to 28 percent).
In 1998, a Home School Legal Defense Association's study of 20,760 home-school students found that: "In every subject and at every grade level (on standardized tests), home-school students scored significantly higher than their public and private school counterparts." Younger home-schoolers performed one grade level higher than their public and private school counterparts, and by eighth grade, "the average home-school student performs four grade levels above the national average."
Obviously, home education doesn't fit every family. But the evidence makes me think it's the kids who aren't home-schooled who may be missing out, not the other way around.
Harvard-educated Shaunti Feldhahn (scfeldhahn[at]yahoo.com) is a conservative Christian author and speaker, and married mother of two children.
© 2005, Shaunti Feldhahn
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- How many homeschoolers does it take to change a lightbulb?
- First, mom checks three books on electricity out of the library, then the kids make models of light bulbs, read a biography of Thomas Edison and do a skit based on his life. Next, everyone studies the history of lighting methods, wrapping up with dipping their own candles.
Next, everyone takes a trip to the store where they compare types of light bulbs as well as prices and figure out how much change they'll get if they buy two bulbs for $1.99 and pay with a five dollar bill. On the way home, a discussion develops over the history of money and also Sir Wilfrid Laurier, as his picture is on the five dollar bill. Finally, after building a homemade ladder out of branches dragged from the woods, the light bulb is installed. And there is light.
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