I decided Apricot Pie needed some sort of essay where we could have conversations and comment on our thoughts on homeschooling....writing...and lots of other fun stuff! If this has already been done by someone (oops!) let me know, and thanks!
Comment away! What are your personal pros and cons of homeschooling, what do you like best about it...so on and so forth. :D
-Homey
Comments
Hi, Erin!
Hi, Erin!
Great idea to begin by introducing ourselves. :)
Okay, well, I'm HomeschoolGirl. We started homeschooling halfway through my second grade year. Up until then, all I had known was public school. I was amazed to be able to stay home and do my work from there. I was done within a couple of hours, instead of having to drag it out for six! That was a relief as well.
Since then, I've been homeschooled on and off. In March of 2010, I pulled out of sixth grade and public school--for GOOD. I was so tired of the students, the discipline, the drama...all of it. I was so relived to get out of that enviorment.
A month after pulling out of school, I contacted the editor of our local paper about writing student articles. I was so excited when he said yes! I've written a total of about ten to twelve articles for him. This summer, I was offered a position writing articles for our local magazine, kind of a spinoff for the paper. It's my first paid writing job at ten dollars an article, and believe me, it's exciting to see your name in print!
We lean toward relaxed homeschooling and sometimes unschooling. Really, we've done it all. I wholeheartedly believe in child-led learning and believe that's the way to go. Kids are brilliant. Erin has a perfect example--reading at one and a half? Amazing! I'm so surprised by the intelligence in homeschoolers.
I know a little boy who started reading when he was about Erin's age, and is now a fluent reader. I recently babysat for him and he showed me a computer he had taken apart. He was able to identify each part of the computer BY NAME. And he's just five!! Another little boy, he's eight, and he's been taking latin for FOUR years. He's at the level of about a second-year highschool student. I find that so interesting. They unschool, too.
Well, that's me, in a nutshell....a very large one. LOL! In addition to my writing, I sing and play piano (occasionally...haha), and I like to babysit. :D
Thank you!!
-Homey
P.S. Who's next? LOL
Hello!
Hello I'm Kassady (obviously!)
And if you haven't heard of me yet.... No I'm pretty sure you've heard of me ;-)
I have been homeschooled since kindergardern (I think?), when I came home crying, because I wasn't aloud to have gummy bears for whispering and not paying attention in church ( the school was like a church-school... ish) and so my mom was mad at them for being so... stern! They were also forcing me to read at a really young age. Unlike you Erin (So jealous :-P LOL) I started reading-reading when I was about eight to nine (my grandmother was very concerned *rolls eyes*). LOL, rather Ironic if you ask me. Starting to read at nine and by the time I'm fourteen I'm reading, Jane Eyre, Great Expectations (or trying), The Canterbury Tales and Collage bio's about Copernicus (Not meaning to brag or anything... well...kind of... LOL!).
I have never gone to Public school... though I've heard enough rumors to know how terrible it is (for some it's not so bad I'm sure).
I started writing around Ten-ish? I started with a NEVER silly story about when you get old you shrink... it was totally silly! It was my first picture book with words. The second was a novel... uh... The Massady's which was based off my of my friendship with this girl I'm still best friends with (*wink, wink*), and all that stuff! I don't remember my third... but it came much later, like on my twelth of thirteenth birthday? I don't remember. Well, we moved into the country and we decided that we'll finally be social Homeschoolers *grins*, so that's how I met HomeschoolGirl! She was at the first Homeschool Co-op meeting that I went to. We became best friends quickly and then I introduced her to my other best friend and that's where the inspiration of The Friendship Of Three came from, which was originally Homey's idea (I stole it! MWHAHA!)
Now we are back into the city... *sob* and farther away (Not as far as my other best friend... but far enough! LOL!).
Just this winter I got into this online highschool called Exploration Academy Online (Homey, of course, must be rolling her eyes right now, since I've talked about it so much :-P) and I'm really liking it! ExplorationAcademyOnline.Org if (if anyone's interested), It's a very relaxed according to the student. I have a learning coach who actually lives over in Washington State (where the real Exploration Academy school is) and we get together on Skype to discuss what I've learned and what I'll be learning through the week. So It's pretty much student led! I get to go off and do whatever during the day, as long as I get up to four or more ours of schoolwork done aday! And what is really nice for me, is that writing is apart of my school! I have to write something everyday, and I'm learning discipline through that (which I never had ). It's really nice! And for Math, I'm using KhanAcademy.org... REALLY AWESOME MATH SITE!!! But it doesn't only have math, it has history, science and all these different cool stuff! You should definitely check it out!
So now that you've painfully read through me... whose next?! LOL!
Write on!
"Here's looking at you, Kid"
---
Write On!
'allo!
Hi! I'm Sarah, eighteen.
I was homeschooled my entire life starting at age three when I learned to read. It was more unschooling than homeschooling which was unfortunate in a few ways since I never did a huge amount of math, but by sheer power of osmosis (sleeping on my textbooks) I managed to pick up Algebra.
Unfortunately, due to the mental illness and abuse from my mother, a large portion of my memories of homeschooling which should have been awesome, are irreparably soured. On the whole, I am very glad I was homeschooled since it put me way ahead of people my own age in school, allowed me to graduate at sixteen and thus get on with more fun things such as taking a few years off school to work wherever struck my fancy, such as doing conservation work, and working on a strawberry farm, while still letting me start college at a slightly earlier pace than most people my age, this year.
Homeschooling and unschooling are both, in my mind, far superior to public schooling with the one exception of sports, drama, music and band! Unless you really have a lot of siblings who are also your sextuplet siblings, those things can be hard to do unless you join a school for those classes, or find groups of those interests in your area.
I shall forever be grateful to my homeschooling experience. ^^
"Sometimes even to live is courage."
-Seneca
I'm Bridget, 18, madwoman. I
I'm Bridget, 18, madwoman. I was homeschooled until college, and I hated it until my last year, when I finished my senior, junior, and part of sophomore in one year. After that I went to a community college for a year, and now I'm at a university studying mechanical engineering.
I disliked homeschooling because I saw my friends only about once a week. I was envious of the kids who got to see their friends every day at school. My parents told me about public schools and private schools, and while I semi-believed them, I didn't care.
Now I'm very glad to have been homeschooled. It's given me an edge on everyone else, and when someone asks where I went to school, I can say I was homeschooled instead of just spitting out the name of an ordinary school, thereby furthering the conversation. I get better grades than a lot of people, and I tend to be a little more driven. (I say this only because oftentimes when I need to study instead of going out and having fun, I'll study.) Not only that, but I never picked up the certain "whininess" that most girls seem to acquire after going through highschool.
I always swore that I would send my kids to school when the time came, but now I've decided to homeschool them, at least at first, and probably all the way through.
Oh, and I never really wore pajamas to do school work. ;-)
"I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth. Then I ask myself the same question." - Harun Yahya
Hi... I'm Renee.. I'm in my
Hi... I'm Renee.. I'm in my grade 12 year, and have been homeschooled all the way through. For the most part, I like it, but like Bridget said, it's frustrating sometimes to not see friends as much. Homeschooling gives me more time to do things that I'm interested in, like working on grade 9 piano this year, which I really don't know how I'd be able to do if I were in public school. I think homeschooling has given me the love for literature that I have, that a lot of public schoolers don't, since I read for fun (most of the time), and they read for neccessity. I also don't have to put up with teen drama and swearing on a daily basis, which I appreciate! So there's pros and cons to both, but for the most part, I'm glad I'm homeschooled. And I will definitely admit that I do indeed wear my pyjama pants whilst doing schoolwork sometimes! ;)
Thanks for all the replies, guys!
Thanks for all the replies, guys! (Well...girls...but still! I have a habit of saying "guys", haha.) So, here's a question for you: What activities are you currently in?? For example; sports, music...so on and so forth. :D How has homeschool affected your activies in a positive or negative way?? Comment away! Oh, and feel free to ask questions. This is what this "forum" is for! Haha.
Oh, gosh,
Oh, gosh, activities......I've been an officer in my 4-H group since I was 10, and have been doing 4-H since I was 9. I have a horse that I take care of, along with my friend's horses in exchange for keeping him on her property. I'm in choir and dance. My mom teaches a highschool art class once a week and I participate in art shows twice a year (Next one's this Saturday, wish me luck!). I take Latin class. I tutor a girl in math, reading and reading comprehension. I volunteer at the zoo. I think that homeschooling has definitely had a positive effect on my drive and initiative. It's also given me way more free time to deeper explore my interests.
"You were not meant to fit into a shallow box built by someone else." -J. Raymond
I totally....
I totally agree with you! :)
I'm in a choir, too, but my main focus is voice lessons. :D I also tutor kids. A couple boys right now--their main focus is reading, and that's what I "specialize" in. And good luck with your art show! Volunteering at the zoo sounds like fun! :D
I definitely think, for me, homeschooling has had a positive affect on my activities. It sounds like it has with you, too!
I think I'm kinda late...
Kinda late to the post...but still :)! My name's Emilee!(not sure why that is exciting enough to get an exclamation point...) I'm 16 and I'm in 11th grade! I've been homeschooled my entire life, and I love it! We're a missionary family, so my brother used to say we were "van-schooled" :)! We've always moved around to much to be in public/private school, but we wouldn't have been in one anyways! When I was little and we were traveling ALL the time, my parents were always very uptight about us seeing historic sites and national parks, I have SOOO many Junior Ranger pins from those places. I've stood where the first shot was fired in the revolutionary war and i've been inside indian cave dwellings. We did organized homeschooling, stuck to a curriculum, but we added sooo much! Though it must be nice to see friends everyday, mine are spread across the country, so I guess I adjusted to that too! Oh, and I take advantage of the pajama part! love me some jammies...
I haven't been involved in to many "activities" I guess, other than piano lessons, which I have taken most everywhere we have lived long term.
I love my life and I wouldn't change being homeschooled, though I can't wait to graduate next year!!
A poem begins as a lump in the thoat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness -Robert Frost
Emilee @ http://fantasticalpaperrealm.blogspot.com/
I think I'm kinda late...
Kinda late to the post...but still :)! My name's Emilee!(not sure why that is exciting enough to get an exclamation point...) I'm 16 and I'm in 11th grade! I've been homeschooled my entire life, and I love it! We're a missionary family, so my brother used to say we were "van-schooled" :)! We've always moved around to much to be in public/private school, but we wouldn't have been in one anyways! When I was little and we were traveling ALL the time, my parents were always very uptight about us seeing historic sites and national parks, I have SOOO many Junior Ranger pins from those places. I've stood where the first shot was fired in the revolutionary war and i've been inside indian cave dwellings. We did organized homeschooling, stuck to a curriculum, but we added sooo much! Though it must be nice to see friends everyday, mine are spread across the country, so I guess I adjusted to that too! Oh, and I take advantage of the pajama part! love me some jammies...
I haven't been involved in to many "activities" I guess, other than piano lessons, which I have taken most everywhere we have lived long term.
I love my life and I wouldn't change being homeschooled, though I can't wait to graduate next year!!
A poem begins as a lump in the thoat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness -Robert Frost
Emilee @ http://fantasticalpaperrealm.blogspot.com/
Not at all!
Not at all! This is a continuous discussion for everyone to participate in at any time. :)
That is so neat! What's your favorite place you've been to? Anyway, really cool.
I totally know what you mean about the pajamas! LOL! That has to be one of the best things about homeschooling...LOL!
Ok, I'm really late but anyway.....
Ok, so I'm Maddi, and I live in Australia (like, everyone lives in the USA:( ) I've been to a public school in 2010 for a year. I loved it. I absolutely love homeschooling as well, but public definely has its pros and cons too. I love the fact that you can spend so much time with your peers during school. Its pretty awesome. I really don't want to go into all the stuff, because it would be an essay long! Maybe I'll do one and post it on A.P!
I started reading when I was five; nothing genius there! By the time I was seven I had read a lot of books and could read James and the Giant Peach in less than 2 hours. I spent a lot of my time reading when I was younger, but now I hardly have any time! Well, of my choice to read anyway!
I am in year eight now, and I am so glad that my parents decided to homeschool me. Public schooling has so many problems; when I went, I got bullied in the first term! But I made lots of freinds that I'm still in contact with today. There's lots of temptations and bad stuff that goes around in a public school.
I do a lot of activity's, mostly soccer. I do piano, and plus a lot of other stuff that the homeschool group organizes. Yeah, I could say a lot more, but that'll do! I love homeschooling! :D
Goodbye? Oh no, please. Can’t we just go back to page one and start all over again?” – Winnie The Pooh
Well, I guess I'm starting.
Well, I guess I'm starting. :)
So, I've been pretty much unschooled my entire life, since I started reading when I was about 1 1/2, and don't have a hard time understanding most things. The only thing that we've really used curriculums for (with me, my brother has used some other curriculums) is math, which is something that doesn't come quite as easily.
But, I decided this month that I am going to Rice University, one of the most prestigious schools in the country, so now we're buckling down and getting ready to get more formal with my work.
Overall, I'm really glad that I've been unschooled. I have had the opportunity to explore what I'm interested in, and because of that, I saved up and purchased my own horse, I volunteer at the zoo, take Latin, raised chickens and turkeys........Not to mention that I've been able to pursue writing, and have even been published a few times. I've had more freedom than many homeschooled kids and way more than the kids that go to school.
So, my thoughts, who's next? :D
"You were not meant to fit into a shallow box built by someone else." -J. Raymond