First few days going well! (and a question)

[TsonikiCB]

I am happy to report that my first week as a homeschooling mom have been going very well. :biggrin2: I am finding TONS of resources out there and have been busy soaking it all up.

The past couple of days we have been out and about and we got how old are you/are you in school questions. My daughter very loudly would reply "I'm five.....yes I go to school, I homeschool and my school is in the loft at our house!" She's very happy and loves to do work.

I get the feeling that she doesn't think it is school work unless it is a worksheet :lol: regardless of her (albeit short) time at a montessori preschool at our previous home.

My husband on the other hand....while he is supportive, he can't get out of thinking about the school structure. He was trying to insist that we do "school activities" from approx. 8:30 until 3. I told him that was unrealistic for many reasons - but he can't get past thinking that's what homeschooling is like. I think he is thinking of a very structured school-homeschool, which I know exists out there.

But that isn't me. And I know I have to do things based on my daughters way of learning, not mine nor my way of teaching.

Has anyone else had to teach their hubby that learning is done so many different ways?

[Dianna]

My husband on the other hand....while he is supportive, he can't get out of thinking about the school structure. He was trying to insist that we do "school activities" from approx. 8:30 until 3. I told him that was unrealistic for many reasons - but he can't get past thinking that's what homeschooling is like. I think he is thinking of a very structured school-homeschool, which I know exists out there.

But that isn't me. And I know I have to do things based on my daughters way of learning, not mine nor my way of teaching.

Has anyone else had to teach their hubby that learning is done so many different ways?

Yes, you sound like me (and your husband sounds like my husband) when we first started. To get him to relax, we made a deal. I agreed to test my son at the end of the year with a standardized test. If the test scores indicated that he was learning within the average range of other children his age, then he agreed to let us carry on. My son did score average overall (higher in some areas, lower in others that first year), so my husband was fine.

Since then he's changed his mind about homeschooling and what it looks like (school-at-home vs. relaxed), and doesn't care whether we test or not (the proof is in the pudding). However, we keep testing them at the end of the year because they ask to do it and think it's fun. If they didn't, we wouldn't continue to test. For more about my thoughts on testing, see my FAQ page: http://www.carolinahomeschooler.com/faq.htm

If this arrangement sounds good to you, see if your husband would agree to do the same thing. Also tell them that the research shows that students in schools (both public and private) don't get hours of one-on-one attention from 8:30 to 3:00 every day. Your child would need much less school time than other students because of the one-on-one attention she'll receive. Home-bound students (those who are too sick to attend school) only get a teacher to come to the home once or twice a week, and for one or two hours each time (from what I've heard). Your daughter will be getting much more than that.

Honestly, at the K level, we didn't devote any time to sit-down, workbookish learning. And at the 1st grade level, probably an hour or so, with the rest being hands-on learning, field trips, books, educational TV, etc.

If he still isn't convinced, let me know, and I'll be happy to share other stories and research I've read.

Warmly,
Dianna

[TsonikiCB]

I talked to him for just a few minutes this morning and got him to agree to back off. :smile2: Of course, he is working the night shift this week so maybe he just wanted me to go away so he could sleep? LOL I am optimistic though - it's me who is doing the research on this and actually working with our daughter, so really, I am the authority in this case. :wink2:

[duboisa]

you are, and just wait, after a couple of months, he will wonder why he fussed in the first place.. once he sees how much better off they are at home.