I was homeschooled. So was my husband. I could talk all day about resources as I’m very passionate about homeschooling. Honestly, though FB is a cesspool, they have some really spot on homeschool support groups. I recommend joining FB and find a local homeschool group and also check out these pages and “like” (follow) them. You may not need to be on FB to see their content…IDK:
https://m.facebook.com/amuchasteguifamily/
https://m.facebook.com/FreedomHomeschooling/
https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044178382226
Also, I recommend this site:
https://www.naturalchild.org/articles/learning.html
The books/audiobooks by NY highschool teacher-turned-reformer for modern education corruption, John Gatto, are a fantastic place to start to “de-school” yourself. Weapons of Mass Instruction by John Taylor Gatto is probably my favorite because it was the first I read, but all I’ve read so far are good.
Over all, from my research over the years, I plan to basically “unschool.” Grades are not necessary and kids learn when they’re ready. Textbooks are great if your kid wants to do them, but exposing them to trades/real life/experiences/books is much more valuable.
I love old books and the classics. My priority will be to raise an avid reader and free thinker. I have a very young kid as of now, so I haven’t started on anything yet.
I’m super passionate about homeschooling and am happy to answer any specific questions you have.
Going the “book route” here are my favorites from when I was homeschooled:
First, if you’re worried, get this book to break down all the “things to know:” look through this book and just teach what’s on the list as your kid is ready: What Your Child Needs to Know When: According to the Bible, According to the State: with Evaluation Check Lists for Grades K-8 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0970181612/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_MBJ1FKM9EP4B20YN6088.
Map learning: Maps, Charts, and Graphs (LOVED this series. It was so fun and we wanted to do the whole book at one go)
Math: Miquon Math for the Little’s, then either Fred Math (never used; heard good things), Singapore Math (what I used; it was okay), or find something better. I HATED Saxon. We quit it after one chapter. Higher level math was Jacobs Math. I really liked the way it was presented.
Writing/spelling: Writing Strands (probably better stuff out there now; I’d look into what’s recommended by the Simply Charlotte Mason website too. They have good suggestions for whiting/spelling/literature).
Science: I’m definitely going a different route here. Much of the science taught is basically “Scientism” even in the homeschool world. We used Dr. J Wile books, though. They were mostly good. He’s pro-vax which came out in one book. It was easily refuted though.
Book lists: https://www.amblesideonline.org/ This site has some great by-grade book lists. Just go into the “by year” menu and click the book list link. Fantastic classics are recommended there.
In conclusion to this overly long post, I suggest you take a few months at least off of schoolwork once pulling your kid out to take a break and find himself/herself again. There is no rush to book learning. Kids learn whether you want them to or not. Don’t stress about it! Except in abuse cases, I’d argue that any style of homeschooling is worlds better than public school can ever do. You aren’t going to mess your kids up. Listen to them. They can guide you on how they want to learn. Let them help you pick out books. Use the library a lot to save money too. ThriftBooks is my goto for buying books the library doesn’t have.
The biggest issue for our family is missing "recess" with 20-30 similar aged kids. Sure, we can go to a park or something, but it's always different kids. They're missing out on developing long-term relationships with people they see on a daily basis. They're also missing out on getting comfortable functioning in a group setting and working with peers. How did you address those issues? I'm not willing to gamble that "they'll turn out ok anyway."
Get your kids into regular activities in your community, such as hockey, tennis, any kind of team sports. They will have all the socialization they need. Chances are there are also homeschool kids on the teams as well to get to know.
That's a separate thing for us. Sport is organized. Children need disorganized play time where they can do whatever they want. They learn negotiation, team-building, etc. from free play where they invent games and play them with other kids.
Church and sports and homeschool clubs. Problem solved
Church and sports
I've never been to any of these that had free play, meaning the kids can do whatever they want as long as they're not breaking any rules. Is it regional?
I went to public school in a 'good' school district with like 99% White kids.
I had a good amount of close friends in high school, we all became a bunch of degenerate alcoholics/pot heads in and after high school. Some turned to hard drugs, some became dealers and landed in jail, a few have died from overdose.
Now, about 10 years later, I've cut ties with all of them. The only one I still maintain close contact and friendship with is a guy I trained jujitsu with since then. I've quit drugs and alcohol and I'm married with a second kid on the way.
Explain to me how 'socializing with my peers' did me any good whatsoever. My kids will be homeschooled, I'll get them involved in sports if they are interested, and they will be socialized by each other, my wife and I, and other nondegenerate adults and their kids that I determine to be worth spending time around.
Explain to me how 'socializing with my peers' did me any good whatsoever.
Explain to me how it was responsible for your choices. And explain to me how only public school kids do stupid shit like drink too much and take drugs.
I went to public school, too and didn't do any of that stupid shit.
they will be socialized by each other, my wife and I, and other nondegenerate adults and their kids that I determine to be worth spending time around.
Your kids are going to be awkward weirdos, probably mistaken for autistic.
There are tons of articles like this one out there: https://www.time4learning.com/blog/homeschool/socialization-the-biggest-non-issue-in-homeschooling/
This has been addressed by almost every homeschooler. And I don’t mean that in an patronizing or snarky way…it really is the biggest question people have once they are ready to make the jump to freedom!
I had consistent friends through church, common interests, volunteer work (adults can be friends too!), and a homeschool co-op group.
In these big 30-kid recesses you mention, the kids play in smaller friend groups, which you can provide at home/out-of-home easily. There is not much benefit in having huge groups of kids in a school setting since they pair off anyway, are having to abide by many rules to keep them “safe” (usually overprotective rules like no running), and are in a controlled environment without much freedom to be creative and explore (aka, they’re stuck in a fence).
Compared to my childhood and friendships, I view school-quality “socializing” quite lacking. It seems wonderful and necessary until you’re out of it. With a little upfront creativity and work, you’ll find your kids even better social situations.
By not being in school, I became much more comfortable in a group setting. School controls so many interactions and does so by age/ability, that “getting along in a group setting” is very artificial. In the real world, I learned to get along in multi-age groups. My school friends were only comfortable with their peers. If anyone was gambling, it was the parents of the public school kids. I also, of course, had peers as friends, but I was pretty mature for my age and preferred to talk with older kids or adults or play with the little ones. Kids my age tended to be catty and immature. If I was in school, I would have been stuck with those kids. Thankfully I had the freedom through homeschool to pick my own friends easier.
There is all that hierarchical, social learning that needs to be going on.
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