1.When will K go back to school? Next term/ next year/ when T and Ky start kindergarten/ ever?
K has the option to return to school at anytime. Ideally I would love to home school all of them through high school. (Yes, we can actually do that and Yes they can still go to college and/or university if they choose.) However, we have chosen to reevaluate each summer based on our wants/needs, the children's wants/needs, our financial situation, and many other personal/ family factors. (Also, T and Ky may not even go to kindergarten. *gasp*)
2. How do you teach K with T and Ky around? How do you cover everything? Do you use a specific curriculum?
To all 3: I don't.
K LEARNS. (T and Ky learn too) People (of all ages) do not need to be taught to learn. I am not their teacher. I am more like their "educational facilitator." When our kids express an interest we help them learn all they can by visiting the library, watching videos and documentaries, setting up activities for learning, providing materials for learning, field trips, enlisting the help of someone who is more knowledgeable in the subject area, etc... If I don't know something we learn it together. For example: K LOVES sharks. We have read books about sharks, (their feeding and breeding habits of different species) watched documentaries about sharks and the practice of shark fining, researched shark attack statistics of various species, found the areas on the globe where the most shark attacks occur, measured how long a great white shark can grow and researched the prehistoric shark: the megalodon. We did the same sort of research when he was interested in knights and castles, elephants, police, etc... We're even learning to knit! We also expose our kids to things we think they might enjoy to help spark an interest.
K's LEGO Police Station
3. But what about SOCIALIZATION!?
Honestly this is the one question that absolutely drives me bonkers. Maybe because it is asked the most frequently. By almost everyone. So, for anyone who is curious about how children who are home schooled are "socialized": Dogs are socialized, people are social. K, T and Ky have the opportunity to interact with people of all ages almost every day in real life situations, rather than with a set group of same aged peers. When we go out K interacts with the cashier at the store, the person handing out the free samples, the elderly lady selling poppies, other children at the playground, the "Army Guys" in line at the Wal-Mart, the Police officer walking through town, etc... He has a group of friends whom he plays with regularly who live in our neighbourhood, and a couple of peers who are home schooled as well. He also "socializes" with the other children at (currently) gymnastics and swimming.
4. How do you know K is "keeping up" or "learning everything he needs to know"?
Being at home means he doesn't have to "keep up". He is free to develop the skills he will need for his life at his own pace. Just like infants will learn to sit, crawl, walk and talk on their own time table children are ready to add, subtract, read and write at different times. Not every child is developmentally ready to read (or write or add, etc...) at age 6 (or 7 or 8). If we were to let the child who is not quite ready have a few more years to actually be ready to learn rather than pushing them when they are not we would have less reluctant readers (or writers or math haters!) Being at home enables me to take note of what skills K is currently working on (whether it be reading, writing, math, gross motor, etc...) and adjust the materials and activities to help further his learning in that particular area. It also lets me see what skills he may need extra help with.
K following a recipe to make a cake on his own
5. But what if he goes back to school and is behind?
Statistically home schooled children are usually ahead of their public schooled age peers. However, since most people have areas of strength and areas of weakness, if K is "behind" in a certain area we can work with him or hire a tutor to help him "catch up."
Let me ask you a question now. If you are a parent (or a future one) what do you want for your children now and for the future? Really think about it. I'll wait...
For us what we want is for our children to be happy first and foremost. We also want them to be creative, independent, confident, inquisitive, determined, problem solvers. We want for them to love learning and to develop the skills necessary to learn anything they want or need to know throughout their lives. We want to help foster their innate curiosity. We want for them to have ample opportunities to experiment, make choices and solve problems, so as their problems grow with them they have the skills to solve them. We want for our kids to discover who they are supposed to be rather than trying to fit a mold of what they "should" be. We want them to learn what they love to do and for them to follow their passions. We want for them to be successful and happy on their own terms.
Home schooling gives us the opportunity to provide a hands on education tailored to each child's individual needs and interests. It enables our children to learn life skills in the context of real life.We get to see the moment when one of our kids "gets it" when learning a new skill. Being with our kids and learning with them allows me to connect with them, discover what interests them, and how they learn best. I can help encourage social and communication skills, and model respect, honesty and other values that are important to our family. We can help them identify problems and generate solutions. There are so many benefits to home schooling for OUR family. Does home school work for everyone? Of course not. Public school doesn't either (otherwise we'd have 100% graduation rate!) Home school is working for us. So all I am asking from our family (and close friends) is to please support us in our decision to home school (or at least pretend to!) ;) I am always happy to answer questions about home schooling (except for socialization questions! Ugh!) and provide books, links and other resources to those who are interested in learning more.
K and Ky enjoying the nature trail
KaTaKy's Mama
