Homeschooling the Clandestine Clan

How do you home school? Do you hire someone? I was hoping my kid could re-teach me calculus, stats etc. I dont think I'd be any help in physics or chemistry with my D+ avg.

we did this n cooperation with a private school, and our attended both part and full time. oldest is a phd and author of 5-6 books

Good luck Chad. I hate the way they teach in PS, and the subtle and not-so-subtle push to the left. I make sure to check on their learning, and make sure they hear counter-arguments to the nonsense.

This is our first year of school for our kids and we home school. We live in the Peoples Republik if Montgomery, where they hand out condoms in middle school and encourage ignorant children to engage in "social activism" rather than school work. My wife spent a long time researching different curriculum's and found one that she really liked, then started looking for Umbrella programs to attend. As it stands now, our 6 year old is in Kindergarten and our 4 year old is in Pre-K at a Christian based umbrella co-op. The total cost is about $400 per kid a year. They attend 4 hours of structured classroom one day a week, but next year my daughter would go up to at least a full 7 hour day of structured class, and we would have the option of a second day of schooling for electives like music, art, foreign languages, etc. They are learning on accredited curriculums that are also faith based, something important to my wife and I.

Humans don't need to be "socialized", but I think its important for them to learn to interact with other kids at a young age. The co-op program forces my kids to interact with kids their age, learn to share, learn to play, learn to tolerate, etc. If you start researching, you'll likely find lots of "home school programs" around you. Our local county indoor pool offers a home school swim class on Wednesday mornings. Its a less expensive small group setting that teaches them to swim, has them engage with other kids their age, and helps the indoor pool with activities during off hours. There are lots of other places, dance studies, music teachers, etc that offer less expensive rates during traditional "school hours" when they are looking for work.

Another benefit is vacation schedules. We go to Florida every February for 3 weeks. Our kids are home schooled, so they just miss 3 Friday's worth of classroom time, but don't miss a beat in their education. It allows us to take advantage of lower prices during off-peak times for vacation as well as less crowded vacations.

As you can tell, I've become a huge advocate for home school. It allows my wife and I to be involved in the education. It allows us to limit the outside influence and indoctrination that is flooding public schools. It allows us to interact more with our children and be a part of their lives. My job currently has me working the evening and night hours 4 nights a week, but I get to see my kids, play with them, teach them and just be a part of their lives in the mornings before I leave for work. I wouldn't see them 4 days a week if they were in public school. My 6 year old daughter is reading books above a kindergarten level, while my slightly older 6 year old niece (who attends a local private school) is still struggling to read easy books. My 4 year old boy is trying to mimic my daughter (who he sits next to while they are learning at home) and is already tracing letters and writing words because his sister is doing it. Its a great motivation for both the kids.

As I am writing this, on a Saturday morning, they are "playing a game" that has them separating items by color and counting them and telling them the difference between the groups...MATH... as a game while they are waiting for me to make them French Toast. And my 6 year old is so proud that she can count and is showing my 4 year old how to do it.

If you have the time and patience, I strongly encourage home schooling. Its very rewarding as a parent, its beneficial for the children, and allows LEARNING as opposed to INDOCTRINATION. Good luck and God bless!

sajidakh said:

How do you home school? Do you hire someone? I was hoping my kid could re-teach me calculus, stats etc. I dont think I'd be any help in physics or chemistry with my D+ avg.

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You'd be like Alex Trebek... you would have the answers and be able to sit there all smug and correct them!

KRC said:

"the public school system in general is not geared towards boys"

Could you please expand on this?

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While I don't have any kids (that I know of at least), the indoctrinated attitudes towards what a boy should be have changed dramatically since I was a kid. For instance, we were taught (back in the 60s) that boys were to be gentlemen, and that included manners (social and table), showing respect for all elders and authority figures, opening and holding doors for girls while allowing them to go through first, standing when a female approached a table, offering a seat to either an older individual or a female, and with the ultimate goal of growing into strong, self-sufficient men who were protectors of their families and society.

Although there are exceptions due to strong and proper parenting, a look at the piss poor excuse for what passes for a man today coming out of the public education system, including colleges, it sure seems that America has been not just neutered but pussified to the extreme. I'm not advocating caveman emulation, but just look at the difference between POTUS 44 and 45.

Bertfish said:

I've known many home schooled kids including some in my own family who came out of homeschooling and were very socially awkward. Something to be said for being amongst the herd.

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It depends on how you do it. My wife and I are fighting with my younger sons school right now. He has a 504 because of ADHD and vision issues. He has mostly gotten past the vision problems (convergence insufficiency, too long to post on, but you can do therapy to retrain your brain to fix it). But his teacher just about refuses to do anything he needs. He needs instructions written down for assignments that he brings home. She won't do that. Getting info on how he is doing is like prying teeth. He is finally up to grade level on reading (advanced in math), but it has taken weeks to get that out of her on how he is doing. The principal SUCKS bad. We are friends with the PTA president and she says the same thing about the principal and is fighting with her because of her issues with communication and being defense of staff rather than actually making positive changes.

My older son and daughter (youngest) are both doing great AND their teachers provide heaps of information. Both weekly on what everyone is doing in class and also notes home with assignments on what to improve or what they are doing well. Last year my younger sons teacher was great initially and when he was diagnosed. Supportive, communicative, noticed some of the issues early on and did what she could without a 504, etc.

Working with the school system administration now because of the issues with the school administration and one teacher.

Anyway, we know home schooling isn't for us. I work full time and my wife works 20+ hours a week from home. There just isn't the time to provide a proper learning environment and do what he would need to support him. My neighbor home schools their oldest because of struggles he had in school and lack of support as well as problems he has fitting in socially. He has been doing great, but it is absolutely a fulltime job home schooling one or more kids. You need to involve them in homeschooling groups so they have group learning chances, working with others, social interactions, learning opportunities "outside the classroom", etc.

At least from what I have seen, the ones who do it right, the kids turn out fine. They have a good education and are socially well off. The ones who do it wrong who basically take home schooling as HOME schooling and don't involve themselves in homeschooling groups, work diligently to make sure they have social activities like club sports or club academic groups (like chess, or mathletes or whatever) are the ones that tend to turn out socially awkward and stunted (and also often don't get a good education either).

One thing to contend with no matter what is no matter how good the home schooling, the kid is going to be at a disadvantage with college applications. Even if they take the SATs and do well and do well with a GED, it will not be considered "as good" as attending a good private or public school and having that transcript with really good grades. It doesn't mean a home schooled kid CAN'T get in to college, but it will be more of a struggle, be hard to get scholarships, etc. Also if home schooled most of their academic career, switching to a public/private school is a huge adjustment. Whether that is just for high school, or if it is after finishing up home schooling if they then go on to college, the adjustment is extremely hard and from what I have seen and heard the "failure rate" on home schooled kids is much higher (my wife was an academic advisor for a few years, years ago). Mostly because of an inability to integrate in to a class room environment, dorms, etc., less than true academic problems. At a community college level that may be less of an issue.

You will not have some of the opportunities that a kid going to public or private school has (hard to get on sports teams that a college will consider as an example, some of the educational opportunities also can't be had in some cases. For example, not that it is impossible, you want to dive in to chemistry...expensive and hard to put together a proper chem lab at home, compared to having your high school's chem lab to work in and learn). Just some things to think about

Good in you both for taking the plunge. Homeschooling is awesome. We pulled our oldest 2 out of public school in 3rd and 2nd grade and have been homeschooling our 4 since then. It is one the best decisions we made. It is hard work and it takes getting used, but we have generally skipped most of the teenaged angst.

The socialization thing is kind of silly these days. My kids spend a lot of time socializing with other kids in real life situations guided by us rather than among a herd of immature kids ruled over by parents and teachers who often don’t share our values. There are so many options for social time out there now, there is something for everyone. Yes, there are awkward homeschool kids but there are just as many awkward school kids. It depends what you do with it.

We used to be part of an umbrella group up your way - Riding Sun something- that was easy to deal with. We have also been part of a good co-op that meets 1-2 per week the kids enjoy. That also helps with subjects we are not strong in.

I am happy to answer any specific questions you have, here or pm.

I wrote a post about Why we Homeschool on my blog as well.

https://pastorunlikely.com/choosing-the-weird-world-of-homeschooling/

Why We Homeschool

Choosing to homeschool was one of the best decision of my life. My wife and I are so grateful for the opportunities it provides. Our family has grown tremendously from homeschooling. As a result, I am a big advocate for learning at home. It is not for everyone, but anyone can do it. The thing is, I was not always so pro-homeschool. In fact, I used to think that people who homeschooled were crazy.

sajidakh said:

How do you home school? Do you hire someone? I was hoping my kid could re-teach me calculus, stats etc. I dont think I'd be any help in physics or chemistry with my D+ avg.

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There are umbrella and co-op groups as mentioned in the thread. It gives some structured or semi-structured class room time. Usually for part of a day or two a week or a full day a week. Outside of that, it is up to one or both parents to act as instructor.

What you said is one of the issues though of continuing home schooling at later educational levels. Yes, a co-op and umbrella groups can help with more advanced math, science, history, etc. lessons. But the fundamental truth is the parent needs to be able to actually be a teacher. Which means understanding what they are teaching.

Plenty of parents can do this fine. Plenty really can't, but try anyway. Again, it is entirely possible to do it, but I've also seen kids who were home schooled and did well not really understand beyond what can come out of a text book because their parent couldn't do much beyond have them learn out of a book at more advanced levels of course work.

You can have that in public schools too with a bad teacher, but odds are good your kid will probably have teachers who understand what they are teaching and can teach them things they won't just learn out of the text book.

I remember learning a hell of a lot in school having discussions, debates and arguments with teachers in chem, physics, history and math classes and certainly wasn't something I was going to learn out of a text book. My mom could have taught the hell out of English and literature to me as it was her major and her passion. But both my parents had no interest in history and were mediocre at math and science. I doubt they could have done a decent job at teaching me Calc 1 and 2, computer programming, Physics 1 and 2, advanced Chem, etc. I've certainly taught myself things out of books, but there would have been something missing from my education not having that person who really understood the topic to discuss with and debate and also teach that didn't come from the text or lesson plan.


To me that is the counter balance. It depends on what you think your child will want to do and is capable of doing. If you think they are going to be an academic Rockstar...home schooling is probably not a good idea, not compared to a good public or private school. But to make sure your kid gets a good education there, it might still require a lot of work with the school to ensure they are getting it.

Good for you!! todays educational system is a brainwashing gulag

No personal experience, but there are a lot of online resources for homeschooling these days including complete lesson plans with materials (not cheap). There are also plenty of online support groups for the socialization aspect if they don't have a lot of peers in walking distance. If you end up needing help with subjects you or your wife are weak in inquire at the high school for teachers or students who do tutoring.

If you go the private school route make sure to ask plenty of questions especially once they get to high school level classes. The school I went to was extremely weak at that level. The one I went to combined the whole high school into one class (under 20 kids). The instruction for higher level classes was horrible. The year we had Spanish, the teacher (fluent as it was his first language) couldn't teach it to save his life. We had algebra 2 before algebra 1 and geometry (4 year math rotation).

Either route you take, encourage the kids to do rec council sports. Once they are high school age, strongly consider giving them the option to go back to public school even if it is just for the last year or two. There are a lot of good life experiences they will miss out on otherwise. If you do it right, they'll only have to be there for a couple classes senior year so they can still have the experience while minimizing their exposure to the not so good stuff.

One thing to contend with no matter what is no matter how good the home schooling, the kid is going to be at a disadvantage with college applications. Even if they take the SATs and do well and do well with a GED, it will not be considered "as good" as attending a good private or public school and having that transcript with really good grade

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Respectfully, my friend, this part is just completely inaccurate. Colleges love homeschool kids from my observation and from discussion with admissions folks. They are generally far ahead of peers in a lot of areas and generally don’t tend to explode freshman year in drugs and booze. Homeschool is way more popular than it used to be and admissions has become comfortable with it. We have friends at All ranges of schools, from UMD to the Naval Academy to the Ivy’s.

When my son Tristan was born my Wife and I decided it would be best for him if we were able to make a way for her to be a stay-at-home Mom. We did that and then we had Gabriel. I believe our children have benefited from mom being able to raise them rather than sending them off to daycare or a relative.

We are now at a point where my Wife would happily return back to work because our two youngest are now in full time School, but problems that we see in the public school system has made us reconsider her staying at home so she can continue their education at home. We've been able to pull it off financially on a single income for 11 years now.

We can afford the co-op's and unbrella programs to homeschool our children. The private school option is completely out of the question for financial reasons.

Our boys won't be isolated. I recently enrolled them in trail life, which is a boy scout like program that is run by the church. Our boys do quite well socializing with other people, so well in fact our last trip to Williamsburg many of the actual homeschool families that were there thought that my boys worked for colonial Williamsburg as historical interpreters. The homeschool families actually thought that we homeschooled our children, but this group of homeschoolers were more of the granola type than my family.

As far as college goes, they will attend if they want to go. my father-in-law can easily make some calls and get them enrolled in Liberty with no issue whatsoever. My youngest is dead set on joining the Coast Guard via the Academy route, so perhaps that may pose some challenges but we'll see.

T-Man said:

Respectfully, my friend, this part is just completely inaccurate. Colleges love homeschool kids from my observation and from discussion with admissions folks. They are generally far ahead of peers in a lot of areas and generally don’t tend to explode freshman year in drugs and booze. Homeschool is way more popular than it used to be and admissions has become comfortable with it. We have friends at All ranges of schools, from UMD to the Naval Academy to the Ivy’s.

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This has been our experience too. Our youngest had no admissions issues when she applied and while we were nervous about how her application would be viewed as a homeschooler, our concerns were unfounded.

Claire is in her final year of high school and headed to OleMiss next year. Homeschooling this final year for schedule flexibility and to better match her learning style with her course work.

She has a blend of class delivery methods - some self directed, some instructor lead and delivered via the web, some are delivered by her mom.

This has been a real blessing as she is happier, learning better, taking more responsibility for her academic success and able to set her own schedule

ETA - chad, many federal service academy students are homeschooled. Things may change by the time he’s ready for USCGA, but today we know plenty of kids at USMA and USNA who were homeschooled

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We started homeschooling my son after horrible experiences in 1st and 2nd grade. Cut expenses, I took on a part time gig at a coin shop and we made it work. The first year we dealt with the State our self and it was "interesting" to say the least. After that we found an umbrella group that we joined that did all the State stuff for us. $200 a year well spent. They also offered many cool field trips and get togethers plus general help and guidance through the whole process. I would be more then happy to send you info on this group if you want.

We are homeschooling our son. He's going on 10. After experiencing what preschool and kindergarten in Howard County public schools were like for him, I did not want him to proceed into first grade in a public school setting.

These were some of the reasons I wanted to extract him from public school:

• Being sent home while in kindergarten with a write-up for making a finger gun
• Primary emphasis in their kindergarten "graduation" on other cultures vs. being an American
• Teaching global warming and climate change propaganda
• Coursework laced with multi-cultural, gender, and secular agendas
• General discouragement of doing anything that might make him "a boy"
• Their whole language reading system did not work for him (phonics did)

Mr. Ed said:

While I don't have any kids (that I know of at least), the indoctrinated attitudes towards what a boy should be have changed dramatically since I was a kid. For instance, we were taught (back in the 60s) that boys were to be gentlemen, and that included manners (social and table), showing respect for all elders and authority figures, opening and holding doors for girls while allowing them to go through first, standing when a female approached a table, offering a seat to either an older individual or a female, and with the ultimate goal of growing into strong, self-sufficient men who were protectors of their families and society.

Although there are exceptions due to strong and proper parenting, a look at the piss poor excuse for what passes for a man today coming out of the public education system, including colleges, it sure seems that America has been not just neutered but pussified to the extreme. I'm not advocating caveman emulation, but just look at the difference between POTUS 44 and 45.

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From what I saw in the public school system, I tried teaching for one year after I retired, there are very few strong male role models teaching today. When I was a boy male teachers were men and both male and female teachers and administrators were strong role models for all the students. Not so much any more.

Hats off to you and your wife brother, public schools simply suck....you are giving your kids the best chance in the world.

clandestine said:

When my son Tristan was born my Wife and I decided it would be best for him if we were able to make a way for her to be a stay-at-home Mom. We did that and then we had Gabriel. I believe our children have benefited from mom being able to raise them rather than sending them off to daycare or a relative.

We are now at a point where my Wife would happily return back to work because our two youngest are now in full time School, but problems that we see in the public school system has made us reconsider her staying at home so she can continue their education at home. We've been able to pull it off financially on a single income for 11 years now.

We can afford the co-op's and unbrella programs to homeschool our children. The private school option is completely out of the question for financial reasons.

Our boys won't be isolated. I recently enrolled them in trail life, which is a boy scout like program that is run by the church. Our boys do quite well socializing with other people, so well in fact our last trip to Williamsburg many of the actual homeschool families that were there thought that my boys worked for colonial Williamsburg as historical interpreters. The homeschool families actually thought that we homeschooled our children, but this group of homeschoolers were more of the granola type than my family.

As far as college goes, they will attend if they want to go. my father-in-law can easily make some calls and get them enrolled in Liberty with no issue whatsoever. My youngest is dead set on joining the Coast Guard via the Academy route, so perhaps that may pose some challenges but we'll see.

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I met one of the local liason's for the Air Force Academy at an event this past year. His job is to keep track of those interested in applying, help them along and make recommendations for admissions from the area. He said that the academy had no bias against homeschoolers - it just depended on the kid. They have guidelines online for what course work is required and extra curriculars but that applies to everyone. He personally liked homeschool kids as they think differently than others.

clandestine said:

We are now at a point where my Wife would happily return back to work because our two youngest are now in full time School, but problems that we see in the public school system has made us reconsider her staying at home so she can continue their education at home. We've been able to pull it off financially on a single income for 11 years now.

We can afford the co-op's and unbrella programs to homeschool our children. The private school option is completely out of the question for financial reasons.

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Invest in the kids. There is a lot of good support for homeschooling.

Were your wife to return to work, there would be added expenses; daycare, transportation, her clothing, etc. I saw a program once where they analyzed this and the family was better off with the wife at home.

The kids often are.