Home school curriculum

[AngryKoala]

I was k-5 public school and they failed me. Parents put me in Christian school for 5-9. It was eye opening just how far behind I was going into private school and by 8th grade graduation I was valedictorian. After 9th grade my parents couldn't afford private any longer so back to public I went. I was so far ahead of everyone that I basically cruised through HS and ruined all study habits and progress. Here's one for you, the science curriculum I already knew inside and out. After a test the teacher agreed and just let me do her college course work. At the end of the semester that bitch gave me a B because she said "it was all so easy for you that you gave no effort. So I had to mark you down for effort". So I did her college masters work for her (one course anyway), aced it -- all totally because of the private school curriculum in the past-- and I get a B. So pissed I didn't try anything else then on.
Anyway, I home schooled my kids through both Christian Liberty academy and charter school programs locally. Socializing came from neighborhood kids, 4h, scouts and ect. Don't let the establishment bully you into thinking because you home school that the kids are isolated in a bubble. That's horsecrap. That message comes from the very people who simply want the power to indoctrinate and are afraid to lose it.

Homeschooling kids has better outcomes academically. The establishment isn't making me think one way or the other, I base it on actual experiences in my life.

Some private schools are great and others not so much, same applies to public schools.

You still had your kids in programs and lived in an area they could socialize with other kids which is great. Unfortunately, not all parents do that which creates a socially stunted individual.

 

[adamrowland]

Homeschooling kids has better outcomes academically. The establishment isn't making me think one way or the other, I base it on actual experiences in my life.

Some private schools are great and others not so much, same applies to public schools.

You still had your kids in programs and lived in an area they could socialize with other kids which is great. Unfortunately, not all parents do that which creates a socially stunted individual.

To be honest, I didn't understand how homeschooling can be better if we take into account social aspects.
But now I see that more and more people choose that education for their kids, and maybe it's indeed better.
I know only one person who was homeschooled for some time and can say that skills and knowledge are not worse than others have. The research paper I work on is about education, and part of it is about homeschooling. It's not that easy to write as I expected, but here I managed to get some help, and it boosted the process greatly. And this thread is so helpful and full of info too.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

Alright folks.

Im taking my kids out of the public arena.

Anyone have advice for curriculum?
Presently looking for k-5

Please and thank you kind pit dwellers
Shred

Be careful - there are some bad ones out there.

We home school after putting two older kids all the way through public school and the two younger ones started in public school. They shot light years ahead on the same standardized testing (which we have decided we will do every year just to see how they are stacking up).

We are only in our second year of doing it, and my wife has switched some of the curriculum. I will post what we use now later.

As an example, though, my little girl tested beginning of third grade on reading comprehension at the end of third grade. We started homeschooling for 4th grade, and she shot up to 6.8 (three quarters of the way through sixth grade) in less than one year. Beginning of third grade to almost seventh grade. It has been a night and day difference.,

Then, after the first year, I listened to this podcast and suddenly everything made sense.

Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong

There's an idea about how children learn to read that's held sway in schools for more than a generation — even though it was proven wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago. Teaching methods based on this idea can make it harder for children to learn how to read. In this new podcast, host Emily...

features.apmreports.org

It is ten episodes. You should listen to it.

Did you know that two thirds of fourth graders in America cannot read at grade level? <-- Read that sentence again.

I thought, that has to be BS. But it is true. This podcast is years long in the making and tells you why it happened among a bunch of well meaning educators who thought they were doing the right thing.

Download that podcast and listen when you are driving. It is well worth your time if you have younger kids to educate or grandkids or you just care about the future of America.

 

[RedBaron]

I've been thinking a lot lately about homeschooling our kids but I can't get past the kids I knew growing up who were homeschooled. They are all weirdos and socially awkward. Every last one of them. None of them have outgrown it either. It's painful to watch them in social situations. I think it has been a huge detriment to their career and personal life. Only one of them ever got married and it was to someone who was also homeschooled. If it wasn't for that I wouldn't hesitate for a second to do it.

 

[John?]

We homeschool. You have to work a bit to teach kids to behave in a socially appropriate manner. 4H, FFA, church events, scouting programs, etc can be useful for that. Parent directed events have a lot more potential for good results than what goes on in public school classrooms and hallways.

 

[XP1K]

I've been thinking a lot lately about homeschooling our kids but I can't get past the kids I knew growing up who were homeschooled. They are all weirdos and socially awkward. Every last one of them. None of them have outgrown it either. It's painful to watch them in social situations. I think it has been a huge detriment to their career and personal life. Only one of them ever got married and it was to someone who was also homeschooled. If it wasn't for that I wouldn't hesitate for a second to do it.

I get it, really I do. I remember field trips as a kid with other home schoolers. I remember riding in the van to where ever we were going thinking, I don't belong with these people. But it wasn't the home schooling that made them weird, it was the parents. Are you a weirdo ? If that answer is no your kids will do just fine.

We're about to start my oldest and we're just starting to look into curriculum also. I started with Bob Jones university and then moved into abeka in my high-school years. My brother did abeka academy online and did well with that.

 

[Herb Stoner]

I've been thinking a lot lately about homeschooling our kids but I can't get past the kids I knew growing up who were homeschooled. They are all weirdos and socially awkward. Every last one of them. None of them have outgrown it either. It's painful to watch them in social situations. I think it has been a huge detriment to their career and personal life. Only one of them ever got married and it was to someone who was also homeschooled. If it wasn't for that I wouldn't hesitate for a second to do it.

That is my view / experience as well - mostly knowledgeable misfits.

Our daughter home-schooled our oldest grand-kid for a while and he had other social outlets like T-Ball, neighbor kids, and kids stuff at church where they are very active which helped. The socialization is a key part of being successful at this. Kids really need to be out in the world (in an appropriate environment) at an early age so they can learn to solve problems with their peers.

In the end it takes a whole lot of dedication and hard work on the part of the homeschooling parents. Our daughter has a bachelors degree and teaching credential so that helped. Our grandson is now in a private school and its working better for him (and parents).

There are many sources of curriculum material geared to your local requirement (or not) and the quality is all over the map. For the most part the non-religious materials / curriculum is of better quality for homeschooling. Religious education can continue with their involvement at church and through other family activities if that is important to you.

 

[Makinchips208]

I've been thinking a lot lately about homeschooling our kids but I can't get past the kids I knew growing up who were homeschooled. They are all weirdos and socially awkward. Every last one of them. None of them have outgrown it either. It's painful to watch them in social situations. I think it has been a huge detriment to their career and personal life. Only one of them ever got married and it was to someone who was also homeschooled. If it wasn't for that I wouldn't hesitate for a second to do it.

I was gonna say I’ve seen similar, but the common denominator in the weird ones is their parents.
@XP1K said it well

 

[Maxduty]

I was gonna say I’ve seen similar, but the common denominator in the weird ones is their parents.
@XP1K said it well

Nope. there is no social interaction on a daily basis. Most ( and I didn't say all) home schooled kids have no social skills. they didn't have to deal with the rich clique or the bullies. They have no emotional quotient. Super smart, but really never know how to actually deal with other people. My GF was home schooled and said entering public school around 6th grade was the best thing that ever happened for her socially.

 

[Herb Stoner]

My GF was home schooled and said entering public school around 6th grade was the best thing that ever happened for her socially.

Yep - and taking it a step further, I went from a private Christian school to public school in Jr. High and it was a good move for me.

May not be the case with all private or religious schools - and not in some locations. At my school 90% of the kids attended just a couple of large, related churches in town so very much isolated from the world around them. I'm still in touch with some kids from that school and most of my cousins in the area went there as well. From what I’ve watched, kids went one of two directions - lived out their lives in the bubble, isolated and clueless, or went off the deep end with addiction and self-destructive behaviour that most couldn’t pull themselves out of.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

This socialization fear is not backed up by the actual research on the subject.

It also does not fit my experience, where I have two kids who went through public school all the way and two who started public school but are now home schooled. As a result, I get to see both sides right in my own home. The academic benefits are amazing, but as to this "socialization" aspect, my kids are fine, well adjusted, and able to interact with their peers. Of course, they do interact with their peers on a regular basis, whether through scouting, baseball, church, home school group meetings and events, or just having friends over for the weekend or my kids with them for the weekend.

My 8 year old boy is exceptionally bright, and I would hate to think what the public schools would be doing with him right now. At home, we can let him stretch out quite a bit, while still making sure he has all of the fundamentals in place.

I do not have this "socialization" fear, and if I did, I would take steps to address it other than throwing my kids back into the public school system. The benefits of home schooling far outweigh some nebulous fear of something that probably is not even true, other than a few anecdotes that might have other explanations.

 

[Milf Dots]

Social interaction with public school kids serves only a few good and important purposes- one of which is self preservation- learning to read other people to identify those with sociopathic personality traits (a.k.a. future democrats), to become battle tested on the playground in actual fights, and to lead the majority of kids who are mostly followers.

 

[Charmingmander]

https://www.trex-arms.com/store/t-rex-reading-list/

Not a bad reading list for home schoolers.

When we start having kids I'm hoping to find a local home schooling group to network with.

 

[DangerDave]

Great thread OP! I have a 2-year-old and a lot of helpful info here. We've already started this journey.

For now: I read to her from the kid's Bible and the Constitution frequently to help her subconscious mind register some core values and principles. She watches Christian and patriotic songs on the Listener Kids channel (only TV, no iPads or phones). My wife reads her classic children's books instead of the new cringe stuff.

We plan on having one or two more kids. When it's time, we can work with the school in our district to set up a curriculum, sports, etc. We will try to find a good home-schooling group through a church. Ours is not big enough to have one.

 

[thejeep]

From what I have read, the state requirements vary, so it would be best if you could talk to someone local in your state what is available and how it is regulated. There is a National Home school association.

One of my friends home schooled in Illinois. His wife taught his kids most of the curriculum, and when the subjects like Math/science/physicists came up he would teach them at the more advanced levels (we were both electrical engineers). They were allowed to participate at the local school if they wanted to play any sports like football, basketball etc.

If you like I could give him a call and find out what route he took.

Those poor kids. My dad is a ME and I'll never forget him explaining math to me when I was in 3rd grade. 3rd grade question college answer. Learned to just figure it out myself unless I couldn't, then after every stone turned I would endure.

 

[Maxduty]

This socialization fear is not backed up by the actual research on the subject.

It also does not fit my experience, where I have two kids who went through public school all the way and two who started public school but are now home schooled. As a result, I get to see both sides right in my own home. The academic benefits are amazing, but as to this "socialization" aspect, my kids are fine, well adjusted, and able to interact with their peers. Of course, they do interact with their peers on a regular basis, whether through scouting, baseball, church, home school group meetings and events, or just having friends over for the weekend or my kids with them for the weekend.

My 8 year old boy is exceptionally bright, and I would hate to think what the public schools would be doing with him right now. At home, we can let him stretch out quite a bit, while still making sure he has all of the fundamentals in place.

I do not have this "socialization" fear, and if I did, I would take steps to address it other than throwing my kids back into the public school system. The benefits of home schooling far outweigh some nebulous fear of something that probably is not even true, other than a few anecdotes that might have other explanations.

so you have two kids who socialized all through school and two kids who socialized through part of their schooling, never being kept from the others? But you don't think kids kept at home away from others could be harmful to their socialization skills cause you've never seen it with yours?

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

No. You missed the first sentence. This has been studied. It also lines up with the experience I have in my own household, which you can criticize all you want. I am not here to win the internet. I just shared my experience, as it is. It is not a laboratory experiment, nor is it an actual study of the subject.

 

[Makinchips208]

Be careful - there are some bad ones out there.

We home school after putting two older kids all the way through public school and the two younger ones started in public school. They shot light years ahead on the same standardized testing (which we have decided we will do every year just to see how they are stacking up).

We are only in our second year of doing it, and my wife has switched some of the curriculum. I will post what we use now later.

As an example, though, my little girl tested beginning of third grade on reading comprehension at the end of third grade. We started homeschooling for 4th grade, and she shot up to 6.8 (three quarters of the way through sixth grade) in less than one year. Beginning of third grade to almost seventh grade. It has been a night and day difference.,

Then, after the first year, I listened to this podcast and suddenly everything made sense.

Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong

There's an idea about how children learn to read that's held sway in schools for more than a generation — even though it was proven wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago. Teaching methods based on this idea can make it harder for children to learn how to read. In this new podcast, host Emily...

features.apmreports.org

It is ten episodes. You should listen to it.

Did you know that two thirds of fourth graders in America cannot read at grade level? <-- Read that sentence again.

I thought, that has to be BS. But it is true. This podcast is years long in the making and tells you why it happened among a bunch of well meaning educators who thought they were doing the right thing.

Download that podcast and listen when you are driving. It is well worth your time if you have younger kids to educate or grandkids or you just care about the future of America.

Thanks for posting that! This podcast was very helpful. It helped in the process of me getting my eyes opened.

A couple of my kids aren’t reading as good as they could, and I’ve been bothered by it and how we can help. We tested their ability to read a difficult article and I was a little surprised at how they each struggled with a couple different words. Now we have clear direction for our situation!

Their mom is amazing at this stuff (public school educated by the way) and is excited that I’m on board with their improvements. I’m not as good as her in reading and writing (I was private schooled). Now she has me printing stuff and she is getting things lined out to really work on this.