schooled at home
I attended private school up until middle school. When I was in the 7th grade, I was told that I was going to be homeschooled. I remember feeling sad because I had to say good-bye to my friends that lived about 30 miles away. See, up until a few years ago I thought I was being homeschooled because I was being bullied by some girls that were a grade older than me. They used to follow me around during lunch and recess. My friends and I would sneak off to eat and they would find us or wait outside of the bathroom for us to come out. My friend told the teacher on one of them for "Christmas treeing" on her standardized test. The bullying got so bad that they threatened to slit my throat by making hand motions of a finger going across their neck. It was rumored that one of them was carrying a knife in her bra. Let me remind you that this was a private, CHRISTIAN school. These girls were my mom's former students. She used to have them over for sleep-overs. Since my mom was a teacher at the same school, I assumed she knew about the situation. Afterall, the girls were suspended.
So I told her a few years ago about what happened and I found out the real reason I was homeschooled. She felt like I wasn't learning much since she had to go home and reteach me everything anyways. I was homeschooled from 8th grade to 12th grade. My mom ended up being a stay-at-home mom again. Eventually, my brother and I ended up doing correspondence curriculum and my mom could go back to work and we just completed our assignments independently. We went on field trips with other home schooling groups. We still had friends at church and Charles played on sports' teams. I had to take the state standardized tests at the public schools to make sure I was on track. I remember scoring low in reading comprehension. I felt sheltered and since I already had a introverted personality, that probably didn't help draw me out of my shell. I graduated at the age of 17. We drove to Chicago, Illinois so I could graduate and walk with other homeschoolers with Christian Liberty Academy.
When I went to Bible college, I was not prepared academically or socially. I had to take pre-college courses and being in a large classroom setting (by large I mean 20-50 students) was overwhelming. College is a culture shock for most, but especially for me after being isolated for so long. Since my experience as a homeschooler, I've had negative opinions of it.
I always thought that homeschoolers were Calvary Baptist-type people with long hair, skirts, no make-up, body hair, and socially awkward. I've noticed that homeschoolers have migrated to the less than conservative side. I'm hearing more and more about homeschooling from the "crunchy" crowd. Homeschooling is less about sheltering their children from the world, but more about following their child's interest and using the outdoors as the classroom.
There are several homeschooling models.
1) curriculum led
2) unschooling
3) Montessori method
4) Waldorf method
5) Charlotte Mason method
I'd even consider putting Lincoln in a Montessori school. There are a couple childcare centers/pre-schools in Athens that use the Montessori method where the students use their senses and interests to learn.
The 'unschooling" movement intrigues me. The first place I heard of it was on the reality show, Wife Swap. I also read an article about it in kiwi: Growing families the natural and organic way magazine. One day I even saw a building outside of Athens with an unschooling sign on it. Being a public elementary school teacher, we use strict curriculum that drives our instruction. Unschooling contradicts what has been engrained in me. It would definitely take a mind switch. Unschoolers may not learn to read until age 8 or 10, depending on when the child wants to learn to read. If I were to homeschool Lincoln, I could see us potentially using this method, as well as combinations of the others too. Joe and I have discussed the option of homeschooling Lincoln and talked about the pros and cons. The decisions we make for our son are taken into thoughtful consideration.
So I told her a few years ago about what happened and I found out the real reason I was homeschooled. She felt like I wasn't learning much since she had to go home and reteach me everything anyways. I was homeschooled from 8th grade to 12th grade. My mom ended up being a stay-at-home mom again. Eventually, my brother and I ended up doing correspondence curriculum and my mom could go back to work and we just completed our assignments independently. We went on field trips with other home schooling groups. We still had friends at church and Charles played on sports' teams. I had to take the state standardized tests at the public schools to make sure I was on track. I remember scoring low in reading comprehension. I felt sheltered and since I already had a introverted personality, that probably didn't help draw me out of my shell. I graduated at the age of 17. We drove to Chicago, Illinois so I could graduate and walk with other homeschoolers with Christian Liberty Academy.
When I went to Bible college, I was not prepared academically or socially. I had to take pre-college courses and being in a large classroom setting (by large I mean 20-50 students) was overwhelming. College is a culture shock for most, but especially for me after being isolated for so long. Since my experience as a homeschooler, I've had negative opinions of it.
I always thought that homeschoolers were Calvary Baptist-type people with long hair, skirts, no make-up, body hair, and socially awkward. I've noticed that homeschoolers have migrated to the less than conservative side. I'm hearing more and more about homeschooling from the "crunchy" crowd. Homeschooling is less about sheltering their children from the world, but more about following their child's interest and using the outdoors as the classroom.
There are several homeschooling models.
1) curriculum led
2) unschooling
3) Montessori method
4) Waldorf method
5) Charlotte Mason method
I'd even consider putting Lincoln in a Montessori school. There are a couple childcare centers/pre-schools in Athens that use the Montessori method where the students use their senses and interests to learn.
The 'unschooling" movement intrigues me. The first place I heard of it was on the reality show, Wife Swap. I also read an article about it in kiwi: Growing families the natural and organic way magazine. One day I even saw a building outside of Athens with an unschooling sign on it. Being a public elementary school teacher, we use strict curriculum that drives our instruction. Unschooling contradicts what has been engrained in me. It would definitely take a mind switch. Unschoolers may not learn to read until age 8 or 10, depending on when the child wants to learn to read. If I were to homeschool Lincoln, I could see us potentially using this method, as well as combinations of the others too. Joe and I have discussed the option of homeschooling Lincoln and talked about the pros and cons. The decisions we make for our son are taken into thoughtful consideration.
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