I feel like we should create a post to compile tips for Pedes that have had to deal with their kids be freed from indoctrination camps/schools.
So I'll start. Please fellow homeschool parents, jump in.
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Do NOT try and recreate public school. PS is designed to teach en mass, typically a one size fits all approach. Why do that when you can customize each child's learning to their personal strengths, deficits, and desires. A kid who excels at reading should be pushed to read more challenging stuff. A kid struggling at math should have more time and resources dedicated to that.
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Get a guide. Seriously, unless you are a teacher, we often dont know what to teach and when. Guides are helpful in setting benchmarks and giving ideas on how to approach it. You are not beholden to them, so you can and should alter it to fit your kid. We started with a book called "The Well Trained Mind" by Susan Bauer.
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Teach more than just academics. Everything is educational. Teach them about your faith, running a household, maintenance of vehicles, rhetoric, home repair, anything that we hear others complain that schools don't do.
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Seize the little moments. Use everyday things to teach an academic lesson. Cooking uses math and also teaches task management. Dinner time discussions become etiquette and rhetoric lessons.
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The internet has loads of resources for homeschool. Sift through them to find worthwhile ones. Some are trash or leftist influenced so be mindful of it.
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Get them involved in a sport outside of the home. Its easy to focus on the mental and neglect the physical, dont.
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Keep them connected to peers outside the home somehow. Kill the excuse that homeschool kids arent socialized (read: corrupted or groomed) unless they are in PS. By keeping them in positive peer settings, you get all of the benefits and none of the downsides. Ex: Church youth groups, Trail Life or American Heritage Girls, sports leagues, hobby groups, homeschool groups.
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Do not feel like you need to spend 8 hours a day on lessons. A couple of quality hours of lessons at home beatsa full day of PS. The rest of the day can be filled with little natural learning moments.
That's what I have to start with. What else does everyone else got?
My twin boys started kindergarten this past year and I can't be happier that they will not have to go back this year. Living in the liberal northeast, the school system focuses on one thing only-diversity. My boys have regressed since preschool. I am now teaching them 3 hours a day and we are mountain biking the rest. My kids are eating, sleeping and developing better now that they are out of public school.
That's awesome to hear. Keep it up.
Awesome!
Mountain biking is like the nature show but interactive. It soothes the mind, body and soul. I’ve never finished a bike ride and thought that sucked. I am always energized and thinking about the next ride!
What part? None of that nonsense in my district in NH. But there are some nearby that do. They also have much lower rankings than our district.
Suburb of Boston
How did they academically REGRESS?
We put our kids in private preschool 3 days a week since they were 4. There they learned to write and do basic math, even a little science. Nothing fancy, just 3 days a week, 2 hours a day. Fast forward to kindergarten this past year and it became obvious that the school focused exclusively on social emotional learning. Look it up if you don't know what that is. My boys were bored out of their minds. Kindergarten in my state is essentially and extension of day care.