Getting Started: A Chat
Dateline: 08/26/97
By Ann Zeise
In chat I often get to
reassure a new parent to homeschooling. This New York mom had
recently started to homeschool after also moving to a new home.
NewHomeschoolMom: About how many hours a day do the
kids do schooling?
Homeschooling Guide: Depends on how you count it. I'm
an unschooler so we
don't watch the hours very carefully at all! Legally,
I'm supposed to "teach" 175 three hour days a year
in California. We're "on task" much more than that,
I'm sure.
NewHomeschoolMom: I will be homeschooling
in New York for the first time and was told about 3 to 4
hours. Just curious.
Homeschooling Guide: Figure that schools only have
kids on task two hours a school day, about 18 days a month
for 10 months. If you can match that, you are doing fine. Include
PE, weekend "field trips."
NewHomeschoolMom: I still don't understand this
unschooling thing. What exactly do you do?
Homeschooling Guide: Well, first we eat and do dishes.
Feed and take care of the pet rabbits. Sit down and do some math.
Maybe do a science project. Do house chores. Shop. Visit friends
and relatives. Go to team practice, Boy scouts, activities like
that. Evenings we write, read, including history.
NewHomeschoolMom: Hmmm, got to be longer than that?
Oh well, I figured
40 min. a subject. I'll try it. see how it works.
Homeschooling Guide: I didn't believe it could be done
at first either. I tried scheduling for awhile. Couldn't keep
up the house, too, had no time for myself: was burning out.
NewHomeschoolMom: Wow, that sounds really great! I
would be scared that child welfare would come to my house though
and tell me that I'm not teaching properly. I heard they come
to your house unannounced, at least in New York City.
Homeschooling Guide: Ha!!! Heavens no! Don't they have
their hands full with abused and neglected children? You don't
neglect your kids. You kind of mentor with them,
consult with them. Help them define and carry out
various projects.
NewHomeschoolMom: Wow! My daughter is 14 she would
probably love that. If you can believe it, they consider in abuse
now if you don't meet up to what they want. Children have to
take all the city tests and everything.
Homeschooling Guide: Homeschooling kids average
85% on tests. Take notes. If you go to the beach, you studied
"oceanography."
Homeschooling Guide: My son reads a book every day
or two. Says he loves
reading history. He studied WWII on his own last year.
Drags out his chemistry set and goes through experiments there.
NewHomeschoolMom: I hope she will do better. She hates
to read.
Homeschooling Guide: Right, because she's been forced
to give book reports
probably. Here we treat reading as a fun thing. We
recommend books between family members, just like "normal"
people would.
NewHomeschoolMom: She got excited when she just passed
in public school. Public school did absolutely nothing for her.
She was slipping right through the cracks, so that's why I decided
to do this. She wants to, also, so that is good.
Homeschooling Guide: Nice days we take a good book
out to the park and flop down on blanket and read. I hear you.
My son was not learning anything in 4th grade. You certainly
can't do any worse!
NewHomeschoolMom: Nope. I've received a letter every
year since Kindergarten that she might not make it to the next
grade.
Homeschooling Guide: Do make some notes about where
she is now. Try to get her school records. Should anyone
ask, you could then prove that she had improved at home.
NewHomeschoolMom: Need to get her some friends though.
Will do
Homeschooling Guide: At home you can teach to her strengths.
Say she was good with animals, something like that.
NewHomeschoolMom: I think she's going to do great.
Homeschooling Guide: It takes about a year to get esteem
back up. Doesn't happen over night.
NewHomeschoolMom: She has none left.
Homeschooling Guide: Get a book or two on how to build
up your child's esteem. That should be your top "subject"
this year, even if it means no forced curriculum subjects.
NewHomeschoolMom: I wish she could meet some homeschoolers
here her age, but I don't know where to look.
Homeschooling Guide: Hang on, I've got link here for
ALLPIE -- NY support group. Here's web site of contacts in New
York for homeschooling.
NewHomeschoolMom: But just like public school, don't
you need 36 credits to get a diploma?
Homeschooling Guide: Well, these people know more about
homeschooling in New York than I do. California is "different."
NewHomeschoolMom: I asked in my church. No one homeschools
there.
Homeschooling Guide: Make sure whoever you talk to
online or off knows what they are talking about. I won't pretend
about something I don't know. I
do know WHERE resources are. ALLPIE is a big and thriving
support group in New York, so should be able to help.
NewHomeschoolMom: OK, great. I sure need it. Thanks.
You were a great big help.
Homeschooling Guide: It's important to know the law.
I have each state's homeschool
laws on this web site.
NewHomeschoolMom: Thank you. How long are you homeschooling?
Homeschooling Guide: Four years now. Starting 5th school
year, you could say.
NewHomeschoolMom: I decided to leave the smaller ones
in grammar school and pull them out in Junior High or 6th grade.
Homeschooling Guide: You might have more fun with all
home, so you don't have to be home by 3:00 p.m. or whenever.
Watch the movie "Little Women" with your girls. They
were all homeschooling, but the littlest. Then mom pulled her
out, too.
NewHomeschoolMom: Yea, well, I am starting with my
daughter first to see how this goes, if all goes well then I
will do all of them. She's my guinea pig.
Homeschooling Guide: First
year is a bit like marriage. You have a lot to overcome.
Just relax. Talk to her about what she wants to
learn. Make a list, make some reasonable goals.
NewHomeschoolMom: I have to learn myself first in order
for this to work because I have no idea what I'm doing. This
is why I need to find support around here.
Homeschooling Guide: OK -- I'll give you "assignment"
for this weekend, OK?
NewHomeschoolMom: Me?
Homeschooling Guide: Sit down with your daughter and
make a list of things she likes to do best. Then next to that
list, what she'd like to do so she could do those things better.
NewHomeschoolMom: She has no interests at all.
Homeschooling Guide: Might look like this:
- Cook -- learn to decorate cakes
- Walk -- get walking shoes and try to walk further each day.
- Sew -- take sewing lessons at fabric store.
NewHomeschoolMom: Sounds good. I wouldn't think of
these things. All
she does is watch TV all day. I have to tell her to turn
it off.
Homeschooling Guide: Get her out and away from TV!
I put my kids on TV diet: only 2 shows a day.
NewHomeschoolMom: I just read something about TV diet.
Homeschooling Guide: OK, so she likes TV, even that
is a place to start. Visit a TV station. Volunteer to learn how
to run TV cameras for public TV.
- Visit an advertising agency and learn how ads are made and
how they try to influence. Just brainstorm like this.
- Try to get outside. Take day hikes while others in
school. Nature can do wonders for depressed kids.
- Do have her checked out by your doctor. She could really
be depressed. He could diagnose and help out.
NewHomeschoolMom: But how do you get credit for this
as far as getting diploma. She is homeschooling
out of a real school in Arizona.
Homeschooling Guide: Ask the school in AZ. Do they
give credits?
NewHomeschoolMom: I think so. Its a real high school.
She gets a real diploma not a G.E.D. We just moved and she is
very homesick for her friends. I know what's wrong with her:
there's no one here.
Homeschooling Guide: I'm pretty sure there are homeschoolers
on Staten Island.
NewHomeschoolMom: There are, but as far as I know the
lady I spoke to is about an hour away: too far.
Homeschooling Guide: OK, post in note up in the local
library, if they'll let you. Say you are looking for other homeschoolers
and how to contact you. Also, just hanging out in the library
during school hours, if you run into kids there, they must be
homeschoolers too! We run into other kids our age at museums
and other points of interest. Usually they are homeschooling,
too.
NewHomeschoolMom: Well, thanks for all your help. Will
do that. I'm going to the website to check this out.Bye and thanks
again.
Homeschooling Guide: I'm often in here. But others
are nice and helpful, too. Take care.
NewHomeschoolMom: I'll be back. You were a lot of help.
Thanks.
|