Thinking about Homeschooling/Unschooling

[disillusionedsam]

My son is 8 and in the 3rd grade currently in public school. I would like to homeschool him because I don't feel public school is right for him. He is really struggling with reading. He has a 'poor work ethic' according to teachers but behind that is boredom and has no interest mostly because things are too easy for him with the exception of reading. I am scared to bring him home because of his lack of interest in school that has become a habit not to do school work or put in any effort. I want to do unschooling but I am afraid that he is not going to learn anything and more importantly be able keep up with the states testing requirements here in Colorado. Where do I start?

[Kiara.I]

I homeschool, but not unschool, so I won't be too much help there.

I will say that we just finished Grade 1 math and have therefore finished all the Grade 2 requirements. (:jawdrop) So if you use curriculum, and pick good curriculum, staying ahead of testing requirements could be easy! Of course, unless your child is struggling in a particular area.

I'm not sure how unschooling works with testing requirements though.

[Pragmatist]

I live in Colorado. You have the option of doing an evaluation by a certified teacher rather than testing. If you think homeschooling would be better for your son, go for it.

[mom23sons]

Bringing my sons home from private school was the hardest but best decision I ever made. That was over 10 years ago.
You are the expert in regards to your son---do what is best for him!

[mamacat]

You may want to look at the FB group for www.allinonehomeschool.com as well as the site itself. Even if you dont use any of the courses offered there they can be a big help to get things figured out.Unschooling is not about just dong nothing but rather finding teachable and learning opp.s in every day life.Also figuring out a childs interests and gifts. As far as reading goes.I personally would find books about topics of interest and provide a variety of them to read on his own level and then also read books aloud to him a couple leveks above his own level.One good thing about the site I posted link to is you can pick and choose according to their level for each subject. Another nice way to kind of unschool is to have a book of the week and then you can draw all subjects from that. My homeschooler is now at high school level and I have a good time finding interesting things for her to read and do online. She does take several classes I link to from that site. I have so many links to places online that I could share with you. www.mrnussbaum.com and www.learner.org are two.I agree wouldnt hesitate to bring him home

[Virginia]

My son is 8 and in the 3rd grade currently in public school. I would like to homeschool him because I don't feel public school is right for him. He is really struggling with reading. He has a 'poor work ethic' according to teachers but behind that is boredom and has no interest mostly because things are too easy for him with the exception of reading. I am scared to bring him home because of his lack of interest in school that has become a habit not to do school work or put in any effort. I want to do unschooling but I am afraid that he is not going to learn anything and more importantly be able keep up with the states testing requirements here in Colorado. Where do I start?

Personally, I am not a proponent of unschooling (I know many here are, and I respect that). I think that direct explicit instruction is key, especially when it comes to reading, and I also firmly believe that data should be used to drive instruction, but that's the teacher/reading specialist in me coming out. I wanted to spoil in case this wasn't what you were looking for, but if he's struggling in reading, I think that a diagnosis of the issues is necessary so he can be explicitly taught :yes

Are there homeschooling organiziations in Colorado you can talk to? When I was homeschooled growing up, my mom was a member of a local homeschool group and a state homeschool group.

I found this with a cursory Google search: http://www.cde.state.co.us/choice/homeschool_faq

[Soliloquy]

My first thought is that 8 is pretty young. At private Waldorf schools they often don't even start teaching children to read until age 8. There are many, many ways to educate a child and, if you really think the current system isn't the best fit for him, I don't think you'll regret making a change. :hug

[disillusionedsam]

Thank you all for the support. Trying to find a good fit for him is the hardest part. He loves going to school and actually chooses to go over homeschool, he just doesn't want to do the work and not to mention public school doesn't match our parenting style. I learned tonight that the teacher holds him in from recess to finish work that he needs more time on so he just marks answers and turns it in so he can move on or not loose his recess. How is that helping him in anyway? I think my biggest fear is him not wanting to do any instruction at all ever . I see 4 hours a day just fighting with him. This whole thing is so frustrating. Maybe I am just over thinking it.

[daisies916]

There are many people who pull their children out of public school and take a certain amount of time to 'de-school' their children. Then they slowly start schooling their children again in the way that fits their family best. That may be an option for you. :)

[Soliloquy]

Thank you all for the support. Trying to find a good fit for him is the hardest part. He loves going to school and actually chooses to go over homeschool, he just doesn't want to do the work and not to mention public school doesn't match our parenting style. I learned tonight that the teacher holds him in from recess to finish work that he needs more time on so he just marks answers and turns it in so he can move on or not loose his recess. How is that helping him in anyway? I think my biggest fear is him not wanting to do any instruction at all ever . I see 4 hours a day just fighting with him. This whole thing is so frustrating. Maybe I am just over thinking it.

If you try to do "school at home" (meaning that you mimic what happens at school) you may very well find yourself at odds with him. (It does work for some families, but since it's not currently working for him I doubt it will work for you.) There are SO many ways, though! Many families don't even use a curriculum or they use a curriculum that is so drastically different from what is in school that it's a joy.

What does he love to do? What can he do for hours? What do the two of you like to do together? If you'd like to share that here we can offer some suggestions. Then you can look at those ideas and get a feel for your options.

I'm re-reading Surprised by Joy (a sort of autobiography by C.S. Lewis). The last time I read it I wasn't a parent. So, this time it struck me that the only education he received in the first 12 years of his life was learning to read and Latin grammar. He spent many, many hours alone, in his studio, drawing and writing. He invented Animal Land and drew it's maps and wrote it's history. Many of the great people had minimal formal education in their early years and much free time to explore and delve into their interests. Having that world experience makes academics, when they do come, really stick.

I was a straight A student but I didn't learn much in school. Much of what I learned (and remember) came from my own reading and hanging out with my mom and dad. My mom was a good cook and a good gardener. My dad was a mechanical engineer who was always making and tinkering with things. I loved to read and daydream. TV didn't hold much interest for me.

[milkmommy]

I didn't start HS my oldest till she was in second grade (6th now) my youngest will start with me at kinder next year (she does an out of home preschool currently) Seeing how my oldest learned talking/seeing others here and IRL my "POV"

We will always have some structure I'm no good at pure unschooling mostly because it very much conflicts with my ADD brain.. Saying that though k-4th I'll keep it quite simple (as I wished I'd done with my oldest) We'll work on reading skills basic everyday math skills (cooking sorting Calculadder math skills through games songs and stories.. and religious education but honestly that will be about it. Literature will help us explore science and history as well as just exploring and observing our surroundings..
I'll ad in more formal math, science history things like spellings grammar etc around the 4-5th grade.. I found that for the most part adding these things in excess early didn't build their skills rather we just ended up repeating things over and over because she didn't really have the skills to fully understand their concepts. Now she does and we simply work through them faster and can apply lessons learned to far more everyday life.
Schooling here is relaxed but structured. I like smaller chunks of "sit down" book work not so we get done quicker but so concepts can be explored more or applied to life skills.

[mamacat]

:yes:yes:yes:yes