Homeschool AMA

[MadamePresident]

I was homeschooled for high school only. However my sisters have both been homeschooled all the way from kindergarten to graduation. Since there is a 12 year age gap, I helped with their schooling in the early years.

I will do my best to answer your questions, however Chase is sick today so if I disappear for awhile it will be because I'm taking care of him.

[jeaniebueller]

Did you like the homeschool experience? Would you have preferred to be in a traditional school?

[Deleted]

What advantages were there for you personally as a kid who was homeschooled? Did you see any drawbacks? How about advantages for your parents? Did your mom (or dad) SAH?

I hope Chase is feeling better today.

[MadamePresident]

Aug 28, 2015 9:14:08 GMT -5 @barefootbarista said:

DO you think you have good social skills?

Just kidding!

I don't know, I mean I do have a lot of "internet friends".....

[thebreakfastclub]

Do you feel like your opinions on social/political issues put you in the minority on MMM?

[drloretta]

What made your parents decide to homeschool for HS only? How did it impact any further education?

How is homeschooling viewed where you live?

[MadamePresident]

Aug 28, 2015 9:14:31 GMT -5 @mrswindycity said:

Why did your parents decided to homeschool?

I had been going to a small private school in middle school. My mom had to drive me about 20 minutes and it interfered with  nap time. She looked at the curriculum the school was using (which was pretty much workbooks) and decided she could do it herself, so she did. 

[redheadk]

Aug 28, 2015 9:21:28 GMT -5 MadamePresident said:

Aug 28, 2015 9:14:31 GMT -5 @mrswindycity said:

Why did your parents decided to homeschool?

I had been going to a small private school in middle school. My mom had to drive me about 20 minutes and it interfered with  nap time. She looked at the curriculum the school was using (which was pretty much workbooks) and decided she could do it herself, so she did. 

Did you mainly do workbooks?

[niq]

Did you meet other homeschooled kids? Was there a big divide between the "no evolution or people of color" homeschoolers and everybody else? Which group is bigger?

[MadamePresident]

Aug 28, 2015 9:16:09 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Did you like the homeschool experience? Would you have preferred to be in a traditional school?

I loved being homeschooled. Many friends were also homeschooled, so we got to talk on the phone and hang out during the day sometimes. I liked that we could be flexible with things. There were several times we went on vacation or with my dad when he had to work out of town and I was easily able to take my school with us.

I would have loved homecoming and prom and those types of things of a traditional high school. However, as the homeschooling community in my area has expanded they now have TWO different homecoming and prom dances for homeschoolers. 

[thebreakfastclub]

Did your mom ask you if you wanted to be pulled out of school? If so, did you feel pressured to say yes, or were you genuinely interested in it?

[MadamePresident]

Aug 28, 2015 9:17:15 GMT -5 @republicrat said:

What advantages were there for you personally as a kid who was homeschooled? Did you see any drawbacks? How about advantages for your parents? Did your mom (or dad) SAH?

I hope Chase is feeling better today.

I liked the fact that I was able to finish doing school before lunch most days. My mom still had "rules" like I had to be dressed and at my desk by 8am, but we were able to be so flexible. 

My mom stayed at home. My dad is in construction, so he was home sometimes also. My mom however was 98% in charge of my schooling. My dad would help me with math if I was stuck.

One of the drawbacks was the curriculum my parents used, wasn't very strong in writing, but I liked to write, so that wasn't a big problem in college. I think another drawback was my mom kind of passed on her dislike for math to me. I did what was required to graduate, but no more. 

[pugz]

curious what denomination you were raised in

[MadamePresident]

Aug 28, 2015 9:17:49 GMT -5 @this said:

Was it for religious reasons?

Are you planning to homeschool your kids? Why or why not?

ETA thanks for doing this!

My parents wanted to "shelter me". As a kid I hated it and rebelled against it, but as an adult, I do have more of an appreciation for what they tried to do. I don't intend to raise my kids exactly how I was raised.

I'm so on the fence about homeschooling my kids. I'm leaning towards it, but I still have a few years to decide. Nods is so shy, I think she would really struggle in a large group of kids. We are working on that though. Her birthday also would make her one of the oldest in her class. I think she would be ready for school before then. 

[MadamePresident]

Aug 28, 2015 9:18:32 GMT -5 thebreakfastclub said:

Do you feel like your opinions on social/political issues put you in the minority on MMM?

Sometimes, but I think that its very important to understand other points of view.

[jeaniebueller]

Aug 28, 2015 9:33:38 GMT -5 MadamePresident said:

Aug 28, 2015 9:17:49 GMT -5 @this said:

Was it for religious reasons?

Are you planning to homeschool your kids? Why or why not?

ETA thanks for doing this!

My parents wanted to "shelter me". As a kid I hated it and rebelled against it, but as an adult, I do have more of an appreciation for what they tried to do. I don't intend to raise my kids exactly how I was raised.

I'm so on the fence about homeschooling my kids. I'm leaning towards it, but I still have a few years to decide. Nods is so shy, I think she would really struggle in a large group of kids. We are working on that though. Her birthday also would make her one of the oldest in her class. I think she would be ready for school before then. 

FWIW, my DS is a November birthday and has always been on the older side of his classes but it has been a huge advantage because he was really shy and self conscious. It has greatly, greatly improved with age. Good luck on whatever you decide!

[Deleted]

Did you learn physics, chemistry, and calculus in high school? Did you feel your parents were qualified to teach you these courses? Did you feel prepared for college coursework? I ask because I think this specifically came up in the other thread.

[dulcemariamar]

Aug 28, 2015 9:21:28 GMT -5 MadamePresident said:

Aug 28, 2015 9:14:31 GMT -5 @mrswindycity said:

Why did your parents decided to homeschool?

I had been going to a small private school in middle school. My mom had to drive me about 20 minutes and it interfered with  nap time. She looked at the curriculum the school was using (which was pretty much workbooks) and decided she could do it herself, so she did. 

I am not trying to be snarky but is this really the reason? It seems like a drastic move to just avoid interfering with naps.

[MadamePresident]

Aug 28, 2015 9:19:00 GMT -5 drloretta said:

What made your parents decide to homeschool for HS only? How did it impact any further education?

How is homeschooling viewed where you live?

I went to public school in elementary, but moved to a different city at the very end of 5th grade. My parents weren't impressed with the middle school, so sent me to a private school instead. That then turned into homeschooling for high school. I graduated Summa cum Laude with a MBA, so I don't think it had a negative effect on my education.

Homeschooling is very common in my area. 

[MadamePresident]

Aug 28, 2015 9:23:05 GMT -5 redheadk said:

Aug 28, 2015 9:21:28 GMT -5 MadamePresident said:

I had been going to a small private school in middle school. My mom had to drive me about 20 minutes and it interfered with  nap time. She looked at the curriculum the school was using (which was pretty much workbooks) and decided she could do it herself, so she did. 

Did you mainly do workbooks?

Yes, there are so many more options now. 

[mmmomof2]

Aug 28, 2015 9:38:21 GMT -5 @mrswindycity said:

Aug 28, 2015 9:21:28 GMT -5 MadamePresident said:

I had been going to a small private school in middle school. My mom had to drive me about 20 minutes and it interfered with  nap time. She looked at the curriculum the school was using (which was pretty much workbooks) and decided she could do it herself, so she did. 

Well, that's the first time I've heard that reason, lol.

ETA: I don't mean that to sound quite as assholish as it came out, I just was expecting a different reason.

A mom I know told me there reason for homeschooling was so they didn't have to drive so much and to have a more flexible schedule. I found the reason ... odd. But whatever floats your boat! 

[MadamePresident]

Aug 28, 2015 9:25:03 GMT -5 niq said:

Did you meet other homeschooled kids? Was there a big divide between the "no evolution or people of color" homeschoolers and everybody else? Which group is bigger?

Yeah, when I was young there was the homeschool choir, band, and groups that met for field trips. I did choir, and they also had a homeschool skate at the rollerskating ring every Friday. 

Was there a big divide between the "no evolution or people of color" homeschoolers and everybody else?

I'm not sure what you mean by this. Are you asking about diversity? If so, there wasn't a lot of diversity, but there isn't a ton of diversity in city. People didn't divide themself as homeschool vs public school any more than they would for north highschool vs west highschool.

[MadamePresident]

Aug 28, 2015 9:25:15 GMT -5 @kirkette said:

Did you go on to college after high school?
If so, did the content you learned in highschool provide enough of a base for you to feel confident in the university setting?

I did go to college and was very successful, I have earned an Associate of Arts, a Bachelors in Public Communications and a Masters in Business Administration. 

My math skills were weak and I did have to take one math class that did not count as college credit. But in many ways homeschooling helped prepare me for college, because I had to be self motivated and was used to working/studying on my own.

[MadamePresident]

Aug 28, 2015 9:26:42 GMT -5 thebreakfastclub said:

Did your mom ask you if you wanted to be pulled out of school? If so, did you feel pressured to say yes, or were you genuinely interested in it?

My parents never asked  me. I'm not sure what I would have decided, but most of my friends were homeschooled, so I probably would have wanted to do the same.

[MadamePresident]

Aug 28, 2015 9:33:38 GMT -5 pugz said:

curious what denomination you were raised in

We have gone to Baptist, Non-denominational and Assembly of God, we church hopped a ton. 

[MadamePresident]

Aug 28, 2015 9:37:11 GMT -5 CheeringCharm said:

Did you learn physics, chemistry, and calculus in high school? Did you feel your parents were qualified to teach you these courses? Did you feel prepared for college coursework? I ask because I think this specifically came up in the other thread.

I took chemistry and physics, but not calculus. I feel like it was just a very basic level. My dad helped me with my math, but it was a struggle. I know some kids in my generation just took the harder math and science classes at a college.

Now they have a place where they can go take those classes taught by someone who is better qualified. That is what my sisters have done. 

[MadamePresident]

Aug 28, 2015 9:39:16 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

Aug 28, 2015 9:21:28 GMT -5 MadamePresident said:

I had been going to a small private school in middle school. My mom had to drive me about 20 minutes and it interfered with  nap time. She looked at the curriculum the school was using (which was pretty much workbooks) and decided she could do it herself, so she did. 

I am not trying to be snarky but is this really the reason? It seems like a drastic move to just avoid interfering with naps.

It wasn't the whole reason, but the private school was very small, like 8 students for a k-12 school. The church affiliated with the school was what we call "old time Pentecostal", think skirt wearing, stuck in the 1960s type people. All very nice, but our believes didn't totally match up on those little things. 

I got more socialization from being homeschooled and it made our lives much more flexible. My dad travels for work sometimes, so we could go with him. Our extended family all lived far and we would go visit them a few times a year and not be tied to a school schedule.

[miniroller]

I'm sorry that my ? is pretty ignorant as I am horrible about remembering specifics for posters, & I'm not sure how much has been shared previously/ how old Chase is. Also hoping he's feeling better soon!
Do you homeschool (plan to homeschool) Chase?
Curious as to how your relationship is with your mother/ parents today? If you think homeschooling affected it at all?
ETA: Duh MadamePresident I was on the app & didn't even think to check online for any pics/ to check ages of your LO's. (Adorable- hope he feels better soon!) I love that you're taking their personalities into account in making this important decision; wish more parents did this.

[MadamePresident]

Aug 28, 2015 9:58:26 GMT -5 @mrswindycity said:

Did you ever just get...tired, of your mom? Or wish you had additional teachers? I feel like beyond the benefit of having multiple teachers throughout your schooling who use different methods, concepts, and even personalities, there was a necessary divide (for me) of home and life outside home.

Sure, I did, but even in my teenage years, I generally liked my mom. She was pretty young when she had me and we had fun. 

Since my curriculum was mainly workbook based, she didn't have a lot of actual teaching. She didn't lecture me on WWII or anything. She mainly facilitated things, like would guide me with how many pages I needed to do a day. But I did a lot of it on my own. The program really encouraged kids to set goals and work to meet those goals. I actually chose to work ahead and graduated a year early. I thought being class of 2000 was so much cooler than class of 2001.

[MadamePresident]

Aug 28, 2015 10:11:40 GMT -5 miniroller said:

I'm sorry that my ? is pretty ignorant as I am horrible about remembering specifics for posters, & I'm not sure how much has been shared previously/ how old Chase is. Also hoping he's feeling better soon!
Do you homeschool (plan to homeschool) Chase?
Curious as to how your relationship is with your mother/ parents today? If you think homeschooling affected it at all?

Chase is 13 months. Just a cold with a bad cough, but we were up a ton last night.

I haven't thought as much about homeschooling Chase, because I'm still learning about who he is. 

I have a really good relationship with my mom today. She is very respectful of my parenting and loves my kids. I don't know if homeschooling influenced it one way or another. I was home more, so if you figure time plays a role in closeness, we spent a lot of time together.