homeschooling

Does anyone here home educate?

My husband and I were both homeschooled from preschool through high school. We anticipate homeschooling our children as well.

Homeschooling was what fostered my love for animals as we lived on a farm and had 26+ of them. I cared and trained and showed animals in my free time in 4h.

So do any of YOU homeschool? Or hope to?

We homeschool our 9 yr old. Homeschooling is a wonderful choice for educating, although it is not the right choice for everybody. For us, it has been and continues to be a fabulous experience for all 3 of us. I could go on and on about it, but I know since you were homeschooled yourself, I'd just be preaching to the choir.

I am a little surprised and disappointed that on a big active forum like this, you haven't gotten more replies yet.

I didn't like it. It put me at a major disadvantage when it came to math since mom never did anything higher than algebra I. On top of that, I'm highly antisocial. I honestly feel I'd have been better off having gone to public school. I probably would have better study habits.

i'm home schooled and have actually become more social. only because im a part of many teen groups but that keeps me social. as far as work goes do u know any other 13 year old working on high school level work :)

I wasn't in any groups, besides camp fires. Even then, I was a loner ebcause the other kids treated me like crap since they all knew each other from school.

I'm homeschooled. I have been my whole life and got out of 'duel enrolling' sort of.
Last year I went two days a week to a school nearby to do my math classes, the rest I did at home.
This year I was going to be going to that same school 3 days a week for all my classes.
I didn't want that at all.
So I got out of it and am now going to be doing online school. Plus, I feel that if I did go to that school and be a 'public homeschooler' then I wouldn't have enough time for my dragons and snake. Now I can be home with everybody. :3
Plus I don't like being around all that highschool drama and other junk like that. Because I'll be starting highschool this year. I still have Church I go to and a good friend I made over my math class and other stuff.
But most of the people I talk to are all online. I have a lot of friends over Deviant Art and stuff like that, and I keep up with my friend on there. :3 I'm social over the computer.
And I hope to make more friends at the anime convention coming up in a week. (I'm so scared and excited for that. XD)
but I like being homeschooled and I don't want that to change

We are seriously considering homeschooling our kids. I am only afraid that they wont have the proper social skills they need later in life. I'm sure that we will figure that out though as we are very unhappy with the education they are getting to this point. It would be nice for them to homeschool anyway as I have to travel often for my work and I would like them to have the freedom to visit me sometimes.

The major problem with homeschooling is the parents don't having the knowledge to teach the math and sciences since only recently were Algebra II, trigonometry, and pre-calculus required to graduate highschool. If you don't have the knowledge, your kid will end up having to do developmental classes at college. Developmentals cost more than regular classes.

i am 17 right now and i was in public my whole life. may parents divorced when i was 2 and neither of them give a :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: about me. my stepdad was abusive all my life. i lived w my mom since i was 2 till i was 16. my mom and stepdad pulled me out of school to do homeschooling. (i was doing just fine in regular scchool) my stepdad knew that was my only escape from him. so i lost all my friends and was pulled out my junior year. my stupid mom and stepdad have messed up my future. they didnt know what they were doing and i now am behind in credits because 1 year of at there work counted as nothing. i recently moved to my dads house. i have been deppressed out of my mind. i feel so alone. being homeschooled is the worst thing that ever happened to me. luckly i found a program called options. so i can get credits and get a diploma at almost the time i should have. I have no friends right now and would rather live with my mom and take mental and physical abuse to still see my friends. rather then live how i do now. i say like 3 words a day. sleep. think. sleep. eat. rinse and repeat. if u homeschool... know what ur doing... please.... and i DO NOT RECOMEND pulling someone out of public into homeschooling. it is a drastic change. if u know what u are doing and acctually love your kids.( unlike my mom who cares about my stepdad more. and my dad who likes weed more). then A'ok for u. - :/

IF YOU DO NOT READ ALL JUST GET THIS MESSAGE! KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING B4 YOU DO IT. AND AT SOME POINT I RECCOMEND LETTING THEM CHOOSE. TY

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Obscurus28

i am 17 right now and i was in public my whole life. may parents divorced when i was 2 and neither of them give a :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: about me. my stepdad was abusive all my life. i lived w my mom since i was 2 till i was 16. my mom and stepdad pulled me out of school to do homeschooling. (i was doing just fine in regular scchool) my stepdad knew that was my only escape from him. so i lost all my friends and was pulled out my junior year. my stupid mom and stepdad have messed up my future. they didnt know what they were doing and i now am behind in credits because 1 year of at there work counted as nothing. i recently moved to my dads house. i have been deppressed out of my mind. i feel so alone. being homeschooled is the worst thing that ever happened to me. luckly i found a program called options. so i can get credits and get a diploma at almost the time i should have. I have no friends right now and would rather live with my mom and take mental and physical abuse to still see my friends. rather then live how i do now. i say like 3 words a day. sleep. think. sleep. eat. rinse and repeat. if u homeschool... know what ur doing... please.... and i DO NOT RECOMEND pulling someone out of public into homeschooling. it is a drastic change. if u know what u are doing and acctually love your kids.( unlike my mom who cares about my stepdad more. and my dad who likes weed more). then A'ok for u. - :/

---

sry lol not an old post.

I can see someone used to public school not liking homeschool at all, so I understand that.

However I'd be really mad if I was forced to go to public school. I don't like that drama and large groups of people.

Except drama is in the adult world. Same goes for large groups. If you don't like large groups, how are you going to cope with getting a job?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raptor

Except drama is in the adult world. Same goes for large groups. If you don't like large groups, how are you going to cope with getting a job?

---

True. that is the adult world. You haveto have all those emotions. getting your stuff stolen. getting beatup, beating someone up. being cool, not being cool. the girl/guy u like never liking you. Stress, joy, fun, seeing how different people live in comparison to yourself. i know people would like to protect there children from that but thats how it is.

Colleges don't really recognize home schooling. A college looks at a kids credits and GPA. Home schooled kids have a harder time getting a high enough GPA to get into a good college. I'm not saying it's impossible, but kids really need a trained teacher to teach them what they need to know.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raptor

Except drama is in the adult world. Same goes for large groups. If you don't like large groups, how are you going to cope with getting a job?

---

I deal with them. I'll work and deal with people if I have to. I'm not completely antisocial or have no social skills whatsoever.
And if I'm working with something I like and the people I'm working with share the same interests, that's cool.
I know drama is in the adult world. It's just different from (in my opinion) stupid highschool drama. I was listening to and talking to my sister's friends who were over and they're still in middle school, but goodness... the things I hear...
I just look at things is a different, less serious perspective I guess. I could survive in a public school if I was thrown in there I'm sure.
I don't care at all what other people say or think about me(therefor I'll go and cosplay in public. If anyone knows who L from the anime Death Note is, I cosplayed him around Target and Toys R Us and yeah.) I just rather avoid the unnecessary stress for now.
I know people and talk to people who go to public school. I'm not completely shut off from the world like some homeschoolers are I guess.
I rather not have to feel the pressure of fitting in with everyone.(not that I would really try) But yeah..
Writing a novel here and am about to go play cards with my sis. (out of school and homeschooled all the way)

Sorry if this came off in a different tone than I intended... I don't want to sound rude or offended, I'm just stating my opinion on things and whatnot.
I really do like debates and I know what I have coming at me later on in life. :3

No highschool drama in the adult world? HAH! Adults can be just as petty and childish. If you think that people magically get mature as adults, then you're sorely mistaken.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Amon Ra Reptiles

Colleges don't really recognize home schooling. A college looks at a kids credits and GPA. Home schooled kids have a harder time getting a high enough GPA to get into a good college. I'm not saying it's impossible, but kids really need a trained teacher to teach them what they need to know.

---

Not to mention, college now look at standardized tests, something you can't get from your parents.

My aunt home schools her two youngest and they absolutely love it. They use a co-op program where parents take turns teaching. For example, a local vet teaches biology and my aunt, who is a personal trainer/nutritionist, teaches health. They have a swim team and they compete against other schools in UIL events. My 15 year old cousin would be a sophomore this year if she was in public school, is now considered a junior. She's currently taking most of her classes at the local jr. college right now. Her older brother brother gets to make rounds with a game warden, learning about local fauna and conservation (he wants to manage a large game ranch when he's done with school). They're getting tons of opportunities they would never have if they were in public school. They also compete in dance, rodeo, and 4-H.

As for the college thing... The 15 year old took all of the entrance exams for the local college and passed with flying colors. She did better than most kids who completed high school. And for the record... My husband hated high school and had maybe 2-3 friends. He hates large groups and is an introvert. He's also making 6 figures right now. You don't have to attend high school to learn how to deal with the "adult" world.

My husband and I have pretty much decided that we're going to home school this baby and he's not even born yet. With all the budget cuts the schools in our area are receiving, its almost pointless to send him to public school. English teachers are teaching pre-calculus and classes are way over crowded. We've already found some co-ops and would like to go that route.

The point is, your life is what you make of it. Your education is what you make of it. My husband taught himself to program and blazed through college. He's now writing his own video game engines. I'll finally get to go back to college next spring, but will be able to finish a 4 year program in 3 years because I'll be able to test out of several things. And we both went to the same horrible public school that taught us very little. There are tons of resources out there. If you use them, it won't matter if you were in public school or home schooled. Its all about setting yourself up for success.

I graduated early and was admitted to a private collage based on my high-school work. In fact at the college I attended over HALF the student body was home educated....

I also attended the homeschooling Co op from 6-12th grade. I was student councle Rep for three years and vice president for one. I was year book head editor one year and on journalism staff for five years, head editor one year.

I don't feel like I missed anything. In fact its where I met my husband.

Heh. I had to redo four years of my highschool education because what I had been using was utter crap. Even then, I had to do developmental math classes. I see homeschooling as a way for parents to be overly controlling of their kids. I would have gotten a much better education had I gone to public school. All my books were either out of date, or a christian curriculum that twisted everything. Only when I managed to get into an online school did things actually go decently.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raptor

No highschool drama in the adult world? HAH! Adults can be just as petty and childish. If you think that people magically get mature as adults, then you're sorely mistaken.
.

---

Don't worry, I know that. I'll have to deal with it at some point.
Honestly though, I said it above, I'm not that clueless when it comes to this.
And really, if I did go to a public school, I'm sure I would only have a couple friends.
I prefer quality over quantity. I have two very good and close friends and that's all I really need. I have more friends too, but two that are closest to me.
One being the girl I met through my math class, the other being my older sister. Luckily my older sis and I are very close and identical in interests and even how we look. We've been asked if we were twins though she's 4 years older then me. Anyway I know adults can be pretty immature.
Not everyone wants or needs public school.
My mom hated it. Her sister loved it.
Me and my older sister hate public school, my younger sister never wants to be homeschooled again after a year of being in a public school.
We're all different. Doesn't mean we're at more of a disadvantage with learning than other kids are.
Parents aren't the only teachers in homeschool.
I'm doing a virtual academy next year. There are teachers you meet with online and can talk to.
Sometimes I believe homeschool can be better since you don't have the distractions of friends and boyfriend/girlfriend dating drama and stuff like that.
If I was anywhere else I'd have to have my paper and pencil so I could draw and concentrate.
In my math class I had to draw every time I went so I could focus. It annoyed the teacher, but she didn't seem to stop me since I was getting A's and my overall grade in math was an A-. She didn't care as long as we got good grades.
I do pretty well in school.
And again, I know I will have to deal with adult drama eventually.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raptor

Heh. I had to redo four years of my highschool education because what I had been using was utter crap. Even then, I had to do developmental math classes. I see homeschooling as a way for parents to be overly controlling of their kids. I would have gotten a much better education had I gone to public school. All my books were either out of date, or a christian curriculum that twisted everything. Only when I managed to get into an online school did things actually go decently.

---

Ah, I see now why you seem against homeschool.
My parents are far from overly controlling.
And I do use a Christian curriculum most of the time, but I'm also a Christian, so it's fine with me.
I don't know if the online school I'm doing is or is not.
But if your(as in anyone in general, not you in particular) parents were overly controlling and you wanted to go to public school and didn't have a good curriculum when homeschooled, then I see why you wouldn't like it.

There's too many issues that go along with it. Oklahoma has mandatory state tests. How is a child going to have those if it's being taught by it's parents? These tests are not just required, but also looked at by colleges. Not to mention, you're required to also supplies a highschool transcript that has the results of these tests on them.

Not in Missouri. The best state to home educate in

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raptor

There's too many issues that go along with it. Oklahoma has mandatory state tests. How is a child going to have those if it's being taught by it's parents? These tests are not just required, but also looked at by colleges. Not to mention, you're required to also supplies a highschool transcript that has the results of these tests on them.

---

Raptor, i understand where your coming from. overcontrollling parents. my parents skrewed me up. and ive been a good kid all my life. nvr gotten in big trouble. I was given no choice and pulled from school. i hate my mom and stepdad and wish i had a different father. BUT.... those things have made me stronger. i have had to fight for every single thing in my life. i buy my own clothes, am embarassed as hell cus im 17 and my stepdad nvr let me get a license and my GF drives me around. once again i say. you should let your children choose once they are old enough ton make an educated decision. And i mean an unbiased decision. I know i come across as agnst homeschool but my real thoughts are this.... EvErY BoDy Is DifFeReNt.... let them choose. evryone deserves a choice. If they choose homeschooling? Then GREAT :) if they choose public? Great! but they need to know and be educated about both. i was lied and tricked and cheated to.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by oliverstwist

Not in Missouri. The best state to home educate in

---

Sounds like you haven't done research, then. http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/assess/ The bottom has a list of mandatory tests. Also there's http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/assess/eoc.html For oklahoma, it's the EOCs that go to the colleges on the highschool transccripts.

There are some good points made in this thread, and also some misinformation flying around. I'm going to try to clarify some stuff.

First of all, it is legal to homeschool in every state in the US. Different states have different requirements, but it is legal in each and every one. If a state has mandatory testing, then either homeschoolers are exempt from it, or there is a way for them to take the tests. The tests listed in the link Raptor provided are related to the No Child Left Behind act, which means they are mandatory for public schools to give to prove the schools are doing their job, nothing else. Private schools and homeschoolers don't have to take the NCLB tests or meet those requirements.

Getting a high school diploma and getting in to college can be tricky, but far from impossible. Sometimes homeschooled students end up with a GED instead of a diploma, but since they are equivalent it really doesn't matter. Yes, a GED can be seen as somehow inferior to a HS diploma, but usually this is not the case when talking about a homeschooled student. Many colleges are actively seeking out homeschooled students, because for the most part, they do very well in college. But homeschooled students do still have to prove to the college somehow that they are qualified. Often this is done through a combination of SAT or similar tests scores, and a listing of what textbooks they used during their home studies, but there are plenty of alternatives and many colleges are willing to be flexible. It is handled somewhat in the same way as students who want to enter college at a later point in their life instead of just out of high school, when the usual admissions stuff such as high school GPA doesn't really apply, and each case must be looked at individually.

Socialization for homeschoolers is a big concern in the minds of many people, but there are now studies that show that not only does the average homeschooled student outperform their age-peers academically, but they do better socially as well. This is because most homeschoolers get plenty of socialization, and a much wider variety of social experiences than public schooled students. If you think about it, public schooled students are "socialized" by other kids who have mostly only known life in the public school system, and by teachers, who mostly went to public school, went to college, and then went right back into the public school system. That's a pretty narrow range of life experiences to draw from.

Another concern is what happens to those kids whose parents weren't good in math, or are otherwise not qualified to teach. As has already been mentioned in this thread, many homeschooling families team up to form co-ops, so each subject is being taught by a person who is fully qualified to teach that subject. But guess what else... it is possible to learn things without having a qualified teacher to teach you. Most of us learned how to walk & talk without being taught by a licensed teacher. And on this forum, I'm sure most of us have learned far more about reptiles than we ever knew in school. I bet you understand genetics far better than you did after your high school biology teacher taught it to you. Once you know how to read, you can pretty much self-teach yourself anything, and a lot of homeschooled high school students do just that.

I'm not saying homeschool is perfect. It isn't. And as I said in my first post in this thread, it is not for every body. There are a few people posting in this thread who have had bad experiences with it. That happens. I'm aware of others. But it happens in public school too.

Lol. I couldn't self teach myself math. When you get into the higher levels, you really do need someone to show it to you because generally, the books tend to be very vague.

I completely disagree with home schooling. My wife and I have "friends" that home school their three children...Niether of these people have more than a highschool education (and a weak on at that). Just from hanging out with these people, I have noticed that they are lacking simple math and reading skills that are a MUST in any childs education. I just find it odd that a college degree is required in order to teach in any school system, yet any idiot can teach their child at home in an uncontrolled environment.

I also think going through a public/private school system is an important step in a childs social developement.

I prefer the two faceted approach of traditional schooling with a large amount of parental participation to reinforce lessons learned at school. Too many people rely entirely on a public school system to teach their kid everything they need. The problem is that a student is only in class for around 30 hours a week and this is shared with 20+ other kids. Not much time for individual attention.

At the same time a parent that homeschools their kid without the proper education is putting their child behind both socially and academically. I do agree that math and science are the most common weak areas in homeschooled children, but to be fair it's not like traditional schools really do much better when preparing students for college level mathematics. If they did the remedial algebra courses wouldn't be so popular at colleges.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raptor

Lol. I couldn't self teach myself math. When you get into the higher levels, you really do need someone to show it to you because generally, the books tend to be very vague.

---

They are not really vague, but to be honest, math textbooks don't make sense unless you already know what they are talking about. Kind of defeats the purpose of a textbook, huh.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raptor

Heh. I had to redo four years of my highschool education because what I had been using was utter crap. Even then, I had to do developmental math classes. I see homeschooling as a way for parents to be overly controlling of their kids. I would have gotten a much better education had I gone to public school. All my books were either out of date, or a christian curriculum that twisted everything. Only when I managed to get into an online school did things actually go decently.

---

Everyone who I know who was homeschooled had parents that I would describe as overprotective and "having a hard time letting go"

I was homeschooled for a few years, and in my experience it actually set me FAR ahead of the other schools I went to later in life. My parents were always hard on me though, and I was really put to the test to learn my new skills--but the way they did it made it fun, I actually basically taught myself algebra, and when I went into a real middle school I made straight As in the advanced class.

I was homeschooled between 2nd and 5th grade, only entering school again for 6th. I went to all private schools my whole life other than that..Except I tried a public school my freshman year in highschool but was bullied and bored, Texas public schools aren't the best in most areas. My charter public arts highschool was AWESOME though... :) As an artist, there is more to getting into an art school than good grades in your classes..you have to have real world skills a lot of schools don't teach, sadly.

My favorite schooling experience was actually a mix between homeschool and regular school. You could choose which classes you took at the school and which you took at home. So if your parents were bad at math, you took math monday, wednesday, and friday, as well as your electives and other classes you wanted to pay for, and took the rest at home. You were still required to take tests at the school, and tuesdays and thursdays were study days for homework and for private time with teachers to make sure all students are not just keeping up with the pace of the class, but going as far as they can in their studies so they can improve more than maybe a strict classroom setting would. I would have stayed, but sadly that experience was sadly cut short when the new principal sort of went insane, fired 60% of the faculty, claiming it was a "time of cleansing"..and then left the school a month before classes started. The school was left in shambles as no one was hired to replace him in time for classes, so... we sort of backed out of that crazy mess. Now they are back on track with the original teachers(as well as some new awesome ones) and a new, STABLE principal.. But I'm in college, so it doesn't matter anymore :) Besides, if that hadn't of happened, I wouldn't have found FWAFA, and without that school I would not have gotten as far in my artistic career as I have now!


Basically I think it's important to be aware of your own personal limitations when homeschooling. My mom worked from home, and so she always had time for me to ask questions. She knew she wasn't as good at math, so she always talked with her friends who had kids in private schools and used their homework as examples to see if I was keeping on track despite her issues teaching it. Thankfully the textbooks were very clear, and so it took very little help. We also did summer classes and took tests and made sure I was always a few grades above where I was supposed to be. If the parent can't teach a certain class well, I think it's important to supplement that subject with other things as well as make sure that the child is on track and can do work at the same level/above regularly schooled students. You can't be lazy and homeschool!

Also, making sure the kids get social time is really important. There is a difference between a homeschooled kid and a homeschooler... One of them has friends, goes out and does social things, and is basically a kid who goes to school at home..The other ends up socially awkward and sadly becomes the face of what homeschooling does. It's very hard to end up like this with how many options there are to make friends. I joined a swim team and a choir as well as taking art classes..I made a lot of friends, and no one really knew I was homeschooled. It made me sad when I heard what people said about homeschooled kids..Because well, not all of us end up socially inept. :(

Well, I had a nice long post written up but decided it was all words repeating what has already been said by myself or someone else.

So I'll just say that not all homeschoolers have over controlling parents. I don't. My parents normally let me do what I want school wise.
They'd prefer I do spanish later on when I have to learn a language because it's more useful(and at somepoint it wouldn't hurt learning it) but I'll be learning Japanese probably since I already can understand more Japanese words thanks to some of the animes I watch.
I took classes too last school year and I talked to other people. I wasn't anti-social. I'll be social when the occasion calls for it. My main time to be social is at my church and when I do classes outside of school. (Not sure what I'm doing next school year, but I'd like to ride horses).
So yeah, we don't all end up under-educated than people in public schools(Whether people have said that or not, I'm still keeping it)nor do we turn out as antisocial wallflowers.

I do like the fact that in homeschool, you can have 1X1 time with the teacher(whether through another teacher or your parent) and there are less distractions from other people.

And public school kids can have over controlling parents too, not just homeschoolers. My neighbor's in middle school, she goes to a public school, but her dad is very controlling and strict. She was told she'd have to play trombone in the school's Jazz band or they'd stop the lessons for her. She likes playing trombone, but doesn't want to be in Jazz Band.
Her parents are way more strict than mine...(mainly her dad) I couldn't cope with parents like that myself...

Anyway, many people have a certain view of homeschoolers that is completely wrong. I had a friend a few years back and her parents didn't like homeschoolers until they met our family. We changed their perspective of homeschoolers. They didn't like pull their kid out of school to homeschool her, but they had a nicer view of homeschoolers after us.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DemmBalls

I also think going through a public/private school system is an important step in a childs social developement.

---

Unless the child has a major social development issue which prevents them from having proper social relationships with children of their age group.. For instance. A grade schooler with aspergers who is either unsocial, or the type who bothers and annoys other children so badly that they refuse to be that child's friend. Which creates a chain reaction. It is impossible for that child to realize why other children don't want him around but children are clicky. Things like this can create a problem which lasts all through grade school. Now we've taken an incredibly intelligent child who could have been a rocket scientist, and ruined him by forcing him to stay in social situations that he didn't understand and he didn't understand why he was hated for it.


Home schooling can be very beneficial for some.

I can understand what your saying about it , everybody different and homeschooling works for some and doesn't for some and vice versa w public school. It is a touchy topic in my life right now and im sorry if i was inappropriate or hurt someones feelings. honestly, i would have liked homeschool if it wasnt for those things im supposed to call parents. if the parents and child are on the same page, i believe it is a good choice to homeschool.

I think this issue needs to be treated with individuality.

It depends on multiple factors
-Education level of the parents in different subjects required to get a diploma
-The child and their personality
-The child's preference
-The public schooling in your area
-The home school support in your area

And so many more I'm not going to list.

So true!

Know yourself, know your kid... Honestly that needs to happen with more parents, homeschooled or not!!

I know that I personally could not handle fully homeschooling my own children, although my parents were wonderful at it, at least that is my view right now based on my own personality and choice of profession. I may be home all the time, but my job keeps me very busy, often having to spend hours at a time on a single illustration.. While the kid is at school would be perfect time for work. I WOULD like to tutor my child in art and possibly do one of those partially homeschooled schools, teaching the classes I feel most comfortable teaching using the best resources available. But I don't have a kid yet, and I know that is many years away, so who knows what the future will bring.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by garweft

They are not really vague, but to be honest, math textbooks don't make sense unless you already know what they are talking about. Kind of defeats the purpose of a textbook, huh.

---

Yup. I remember being in my first year of college and doing beginning algebra online. I was doing a section on radicals and absolutely confused. It wasn't until the following semester did I actually learn that the number in front of the square root was the number than had been squared. Of course, when I was homeschooled and doing algebra, I was on my own. Mom had never gotten past Algebra I, and that had been two decades or so ago. My dad? Well, we weren't on speaking terms.

Overall, when I was growing up, I had no friends my age. Just two older kids. One treated me as an annoyance at best, the other kinda treated me as a friend. There were no social groups outside of christian groups, and with my dad being a strict atheist..Yeah. Sure, there was the occasional trip to the playground, but that didn't happen often. Camp fires? Already went over that. 4H when I was in my teens wasn't much better. So, yeah. I'm now 23, have little desire to deal with people and find them annoyances at best that bug me at the most importune time. Had I not been homeschooled, I probably would either be finishing up my time at the community college, or I would have already transferred to the university.

Do you kids a favor. Don't homeschool them. You don't want them to end up like me. There's a reason why there's a sterotype about homeschooling. Yeah, sure. I used to be cocky that I was well adjusted. I wasn't, and it was a rather depressing thing, too.

But hey. Your the parents. Screw up your kids if you want to (isn't that what parents are best at anyways?). As long as I don't have to deal with anyone, I'm happy.

Yes, I'm cranky. It's 6:30 am and I haven't finished my coffee. Sue me.

This seems to be getting somewhat sensitive, but as a home schooled child I don't think it was a bad experience. Granted, it was K-6th grade and not through my teens, but it helped me develop a good sense of self outside of peer pressure and (for me personally) a better grasp on maturity. I can see how with different parents, or other various factors, it could have been much worse. As far as socializing goes, I wasn't around groups of children constantly, but we traveled a lot and it gave me a lot of social experience in dealing with people in general.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Valentine Pirate

This seems to be getting somewhat sensitive, but as a home schooled child I don't think it was a bad experience. Granted, it was K-6th grade and not through my teens, but it helped me develop a good sense of self outside of peer pressure and (for me personally) a better grasp on maturity. I can see how with different parents, or other various factors, it could have been much worse. As far as socializing goes, I wasn't around groups of children constantly, but we traveled a lot and it gave me a lot of social experience in dealing with people in general.

---

I agree with this. I've been homeschooled throughout my whole life and on my own request, will be continuing it this year. I agree it's helped me get a better grasp on maturity(if you don't mind me stealing your phrase) and I didn't have to worry about peer pressure or try to fit in with everyone else.

However, we don't travel much, but that's due to all our animals, which I doubt I would have if I wasn't homeschooled.