Am I Smart Enough to Home School?

BOTH my kids (18 and 16) are ADHD too, diagnosed years ago My son is BIpolar II as well. Last year my doc started and keeps telling me to have my daughter evaluated for Aspergers. Your daughter sounds like mine (I am 'reading in' a little here because of the Aspie thought) low dose Zoloft has done mine wonders.

I personally would not have homeschooled. My son (bipolar one) almost killed me to do homework with to the point that I told the school either he does it all work there or it wont get done. I had NO HAIR when he was little! Yours may not be quite as challeneging though in that respect. I don't think you have to be 'smart enough' because from what I have read there are all inds of resources for homeschoolers.

F.:

OF COURSE YOU ARE!!!

You can DO IT!!!

GO FOR IT!!

If I had to teach my son EVERYTHING... I could never homeschool.

I've been hs'ing for 4 going on 5 years.

I farm out 3 sets of subjects:

1) Ones that I don't feel competent to teach
2) Ones that I'm too close to
3) Ones I'm totally competent to teach but there's an amazing class I want him to be a part of

Farming out can come in a couple different ways.
- Outside classes/ tutors/ etc. Essentially OTHER people are teaching him
- Programs (online, on disc, etc.)

About half MY job as a homeschooler is "conducting". This varies WILDLY between families. Some teach every subject, some teach none. I teach about half, and the other half I farm out. There is no way on gods green earth I could teach programming. I'm the chick that at least knows if my computer's not working that I need to make sure it's plugged in... but aside from being able to USE it... I know zip, nada, zilch. In MANY subjects I'm more than happy to 'learn with or learn ahead' of my son. Computers just aren't one of them. So he gets really excited tech guys teaching him, instead of mom stumbling through. Acting/Filming is another one. I FACILITATE, but I don't teach. I'm learning latin right along with my son, however, and I'm relearning math.

Since one of your kids is older (middleschool is when this can start *seamlessly*), you'll also have the option of sending them to individual classes up at the middleschool. Like band, or biology.

There are also gazillions of curriculum options. Most are step by step, and if you can help with homework, you can teach out of them.

There are hundreds or possible combos of teaching v farming. Everyone does it differently. It has VERY LITTLE to do with how smart you are.
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ADDED: My son (and I) are also ADHD. Our "schedule" looks very, very different from an awayschool schedule. Our days have 4-10 hours of high energy activity built into them, 4-6 hours of 'electronics' time (did I mention the programming/filming/game design stuff???). EVERYONE SCHEDULES DIFFERENTLY. But a key thing to know is that while some people do "school-at-home" NO ONE I personally know (in real life, or homeschooling boards) does that. Most people are actively teaching 2-4 hours a day tops. So as you're considering DO remember, that you're not going to be standing lecturing for 8 hours a day!!! It's a much more fluid process on a MUCH shorter timeframe!

I think it has more to do with structure than smarts. I am pretty smart but I lack the ability to keep them on track so I would never homeschool.

Pulling a child to avoid social issues doesn't seem like the healthy thing to do. Eventually she will have to interact and although teen years are hard they are beneficial to growing up.

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Homeschooling really has very little to do with how smart you are. Lots of curriculums are online and come with tutorials, lectures, labs and so forth. Even the ones that aren't online come with study guides, and material to explain. These can all be substituted online through free resources like Khan Academy (look it up, it's awesome), and you can google or bing how to do anything. You will also find that you are relearning right along side them and that's kind of cool.

The key to whether or not you can be successful is really about how dedicated and structured you are in insisting that they learn and do their work. Following through is key. So, with that in mind, here are some questions - not for you to answer for me so much as to think about before you decided:

1. Are you prepared for the days they wake up and decide they don't really want to work.

2. What backups do you have if they are just not understanding something? You will need to set a plan in place.

3. How many hours a day are you wanting them to study? Are you going to set a schedule?

4. How will they do (given their ADD) with the lack of structure? Are you able to keep them on task without it turning into an all out war?

5. How do you plan to keep them excited about learning and motivated?

6. Will they take this experience and you seriously?

7. Do they want to do this? At their age, if they aren't on board, you are going to see some spotty, even poor, results, so you need to have their buy in.

It can be a really good and positive experience. School is not the only place to socialize them, but you do need to have other social interactions in place so that they can gain skills, not lose the skills they have, and don't begin to feel isolated.

I chose to homeschool my son because he has a learning disability that makes it VERY VERY difficult for him to learn in the main stream. He is very smart and can learn, but needs to approach it in a different way, and lots of time the schools just didn't have the time or patience to deal with it, even with an IEP.

If you want to do it, they want to do it, and you are 100% dedicated, then it can be a really positive experience. Just do a lot of study and ask your friends the questions I asked you and get some advice on how to deal with things when they get tough, because they may.

I find that as I am teaching my kids I am learning a lot of new things, or a better understanding of things I once struggled with at their age. I am now a far better speller than I once was for instance. Things are so much easier for me to understand now that I am older than when I was a young child sitting in class expected to figure it out with whatever sometimes horrible teacher directions, worrying about whether my test scores will be high enough, bringing on a panic attack and forgetting everything I know how to do. All while worrying about the kids that are picking on me in class, the cute guy in the corner desk, being hungry and it's not lunch time for another hour, having to go to the bathroom but I don't want to have to stay after school as punishment for it.
My kids don't have to worry about any of that. They just have to learn. If they are hungry they get up, grab a snack and eat it while they continue to work on learning. I don't have to teach 5 ways of doing the same thing because not every child in the class understands it the same way. I can find what they understand and move on and they learn it faster and better.
We can do lessons on Saturday so we can go somewhere fun on a Wednesday and miss the crowds. We can do lessons at 8 at night if that is when they are ready to learn.
I will admit that both my husband and I were honor students and managed to bring in decent grades. But in both of our cases it was because we always went above and beyond the teachers. In college my husband was invited back to give presentations from past teachers.
We chose to homeschool because the school system is so broken and we did not want our children learning the bare basics just to pass the tests. We wanted them to learn the whole picture and more than the handful of soundbite facts.
My kids get social interaction. There are many kids in the neighborhood their age that they play with. They make friends within moments of going to the park or other gatherings. We are involved in group activities. They are very social.
There are online programs you can enroll your children in and some school districts offer homeschol programs where they provide all the same materials as in the classrooms and you have a teacher to supervise and help you where you need it.

you make me laugh! of course you're smart enough to homeschool! I have friends who never finished high school and have kids that are college grads! It really has more to do with the why you home school than how or if you can. For the facts and test results of home school graduates and stuff go to hslda.org (home school legal defense assoc.). they also have lots of info about the how, why and how to get started. I've homeschooled 5. The first was our nephew that we only had for a few years and after finishing high school at 17 decided he'd missed out on "real" school and decided to go back to high school for his senior year. He started smoking pot, and has never gotten back on track. He's 23. Our oldest birth child is 19 and a freshman in chemical engineering going to school in VA. Our second is 18, a senior and planning to be a professional cyclist. our 17 year old is a junior and planning to either be a violist, or go into film/movie production. and our youngest is 15 and she is a freshman and doesn't know yet what she wants to do. just take that and it sounds like we've been a raving success. What I haven't told you is that the two younger boys are ADD, and our daughter has cerebral palsy. Our nephew was ADD/ADHD. He was medicated before he came to us. A stable solid environment was almost all he needed to become "normal" emotional and physically. He eventually became physically abusive and we had to remove him from our home. However, he is the one that graduated early. He's made terrible choices since and its hard to watch, however educating him wasn't the difficult part! My daughter wasn't supposed ever walk or talk and outside of having an incredibly difficult time teaching her her math facts (multiplication tables) she'll graduate on time. And she didn't start school till she was 10!!! She spent the first 10 years learning to walk, hold a fork, brush her own teeth, dress herself etc.
BUT...the very best thing about homeschooling is that I don't have to untrain the bad things they carry home from school and they all (all our birth kids) love the Lord and are a joy to be around. They communicate brilliantly with people of all ages, are respectful of others, love us and each other and are the most fun I could ever imagine. It was all so totally worth the investment! message me if you have questions ok? best wishes!
K.

Homeschooling is not about being smart or passing along your "smartness." It's about teaching your children to be independent learners. It's giving them the skills to teach themselves.

You can do it! It's not about the 'smarts' (if it were, we'd have a lot less teachers than we do in public school! oh the stories I could tell!)

It's about the ability to engage your child in the learning process and helping him understand. It's about learning how to learn, having meaningful conversations (and assignments) about everything they need to know to "make it" in the "real" world (which, of course, is the world we live in daily, not some fabricated world 'out there')

The library, home school associations & groups, and other people are great resources.

And being against pulling kids out of school for social reasons?? I'm totally FOR it! Where in nature (other than in grade school) do people naturally live/socialize/function in homogenous age groups?? Families? no, you've got older and younger siblings, older/younger cousins, maybe some of the same age. Church? No, it's for ALL ages. Work? No they don't require you to be born between certain years to be hired for a specific job (other than meeting the minimum age). So really, why do we insist our children spend 12+ years of their lives spending most of the day with kids of the same age??

My youngest sister is the MOST social of us all. She was homeschooled, the older 3 were not. I'm jealous of her sometimes, because she can oh so easily interact with old people, young people, people of her age, anyone and everyone, anywhere and everywhere.

So basically, not homeschooling because you want your child to have better social skills is pure BUNK!

Benefits: better social skills, less clique-y behaviors, bullying issues (whether they're on the giving OR receiving end), far less wasted time in school lining up for the next class/lunch/etc, waiting for everyone to be finished, or being interrupted before you're finished then having to get back into what you'd not finished, having to sit through those stupid school fundraiser pep rallys, and so on. Also, you will have vastly improved relationships with your children and they with you. They won't have crazy ideas that their peer groups can perpetuate sometimes.

The only reason I don't homeschool my one son is because he and I butt heads too much. He doesn't listen to me and I'm not organized enough (I may have a touch of ADD I wonder...) to follow through, so no, I don't need the power struggle with him all day. I will revisit the idea later if things change, as I strongly believe in home schooling.
It is not about if YOU know it, but if you can ENABLE them to learn it. (You'll learn and practice along with them, right? Don't simply say you don't know it and that's good enough for you, because that attitude will pass on to them.)

It's a tough call. A lot of parents with kids with ADHD try homeschooling when it just doesn't go well in regular schools. I had to with our son when he was in preschool when he was kicked out due to his ADHD symptoms. I lasted one month at homeschooling, although I have to say I didn't want to homeschool the first place and I had to juggle it around my work schedule.

While I'm great at writing PR materials, I found that not having a teaching background was a real disadvantage. My degree is in journalism, not education, so I had no appropriate training. I just didn't know of creative ways to hold our son's attention while trying to teach him. That was in preschool, so I know I'd be a terrible homeschool instructor in elementary and beyond.

As you know, ADHD is hard enough, let alone trying to teach a child with the condition. I'd say a lot depends on the severity of your children's ADHD and whether it's being treated.

Kids with ADHD often struggle socially, so if you do homeschool, be sure to make an extra effort to provide interaction with other kids. It's really essential.

Best of luck!

We had planned to homeschool since before the birth of my son, even though I had the same "not smart enough" concerns and questions. Our main reason was that we wanted to be the strongest influence in our children's lives and to be able to instill in them a healthy sense of self.

Anyhow, during his first year I vacillated between following through and just sending him onto school because our town has a reputable school system. Believe it or not, it was my husband's insistence that I could do it and that it would be better choice for our family that kept me determined to try. Since he's still so young (2.5), I have been able to slowly work up my confidence. Teaching for me is 24 hours a day - while we drive, while we shop, while we play, while we cook. It is in the practicing that you gain confidence. My math skills also need updating, but I plan on learning right along with my children. I feel like I have been given an opportunity to become a brighter, more aware and more confident individual.

BTW, as you look into homeschooling, you will see that there are many different ways to do it - some are more classical, which tend to emulate the teacher, text book, homework model and some are more unstructured, which tend to focus on real life application and interests. The latter doesn't place as high a significance on learning calculus and other high levels of math that are rarely used by most people. If your child demonstrates a love and strength in math, there are many ways that they can teach themselves as well.

I am planning on homeschooling mys children. We are doing it for a two main reasons: (1) we do not want our kids to be "standardized" and (2) all quality learning is child-centered. Schools are institutions that are truly unable to meet the needs of all their students, they aim towards the middle, and miss a lot. My daughter is very smart. I don't want her to ever think of learning as boring. I want it to remain exciting, to keep her self-motivated and curious. Schools by their very nature don't have time for curiosity.

Also, I think so much time is wasted in schools. I want my kids to spend only a few hours a day with structured learning, and the rest of the time I want them learning in the world through active exploration.

The smartest thing anyone can ever do for their children is to teach them "HOW to LEARN". It's not you sitting down and showing them 500 times how to multiply and demonstrating 500 more times how to divide and so on. It's about you providing them with the tools they need to do it for themselves.

Everything you would ever want them to learn is available online for very little money. I do believe each homeschooling child should have their own laptop, a printer available to them, art supplies, a membership to www.cosmeo.com as well as www.time4learning.com, as well as the ability to get to the library whenever they need or want.

I taught each of my children how to read with a combination of programs including home-made flashcards, www.starfall.com, and other programs that I bought in the cheap section of best buy.

Now you can even find lectures on just about anything on youtube. I just now walked into the kitchen and my daughter is watching a video that is teaching her a drawing lesson. She has her paper and colored pencils in front of her. I don't tell my daughter what order to do her work in. She knows what's needed. I don't even tell her how much to do each day. My job is to keep her on track, punish her if I catch her sneaking off to watch netflix in the middle of the day, and reward her appropriately for getting her work done and putting in extra effort, when she does.

My oldest 3 homeschooled until they finally wore us down and we let them go to school. They were in the 5th, 8th, and 11th grade when they started school. They each loved public school and have done very well in college so far. I have 1 just going back to college after working several years, 1 that has her 2 year degree and is half way through the 4 year degree, and one that's almost done with her 2 year degree and has already enrolled for the fall in her 4 year program. These girls are only just finally starting to recognize that they learned some great lessons in homeschooling that is serving them well now.

I did not hold my children's hands and beg them to learn when they were growing up. I explained what was needed, why I chose to homeschool, and I talked constantly about college. 3 down, 1 to go. :)

Actually I think being smart isn't that important to success as a home schooler. Discipline and a willingness to learn sound WAY more important. I'm pretty smart, but I think if I tried to homeschool we'd spend way too much time in front of the TV.... But if you have the discipline to make yourself (and therefore the kidlets!) do it everyday, and if you're willing to learn this week what you're going to teach them next week I bet you could do pretty darn good job.

For that matter "Let's find out together" or "I'm not sure so why don't you look it up and teach ME" are probably pretty good teaching strategies.