Should I Home School My Child? Please Help!

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Should I Home School My Child? Please Help!

by Jenny
(Lynden, WA)

Should I Home School My Child?

Single, working mother asks, "Should I home school my child?" Many of us have wrestled with the same question. Can you offer some help?

I am a single mother and I really would like to homeschool my daughter who is going to be in grade 1 in September.

Right now she goes to kindergarten twice a week and already she is miserable. She comes home crying because the children are making fun of her and pushing her around. Also her personality has changed a lot since she started to go to school. She lies to me and pushes around her little brother who is only three years old. I am sure that this new behavior is due to her being in school.

So, I obviously have to work to support my family. I think I could homeschool them in the evening for two hours and then on the weekends 6 hours on Saturday and 4 hours on Sunday. Do you think that is doable?

I have been praying to GOD and hope to get an answer soon. I want to do the right thing and I want to make sure that my children will have the best childhood they could have. I know that money will be close but that is okay because we do not need to have all these expensive things. We are content with the simple stuff in life.

Can someone please let me know what they think I should do? Thank you!

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Should I Home School My Child? Please Help!

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Mar 25, 2010
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Not only is it do-able, its been done
by: mrs dani

First, God Bless you and we are praying for you. You have a tougher job than most homeschoolers...but not impossible.

There are MANY single homeschooling mothers out there so you are not only not alone, but many have blazed the trail already so it will be a bit easier for you.

There are some things you need to do. You need to go to the Homeschool Legal Defense Association website (www.hslda.org) and click on your state and get info for the homeschool groups in your area. Many of the state groups have special departments for single mothers; support, low cost to free materials, advice, etc.

You will also need to prioritize your spending. As a single mother, I am sure you have already done that but you may need to do it again; smaller home, no cable, etc. Again, getting with a good group of other mothers will help. You did not mention if you have the support of the father. If so, perhaps he can watch the kids on the weekends or help more financially. If not, there are plenty of mothers out there who have homeschooled without ANY help of family or exs.

You can do this...but I will be honest. This will be tough. You are going to need strength from God and from other homeschoolers. YOU MUST get into a good homeschool group....NOW!

God Bless you and I will be praying for you.

Mar 25, 2010
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forgot to mention
by: mrs dani

I can't believe I mentioned the Homeschool Legal Defense Association above but didnt tell you about their single homeschooling mother's fund. Sorry, have a lot going on. When you go to their website, www.hslda.org, you need to contact them and get info about the Homeschool Foundation. The website for the foundation is http://www.homeschoolfoundation.org/

May 22, 2010
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Desparate to save a childs education
by: Anonymous

If you can homeschool this child, please do so.
I have six children all went to public school. Oldest learned her first horrible words at school that were never used in my home on her sisters. My daughters have all graduated from high school. My son I am homeschooling him right now. He had a horrible time in school. He's thirteen being homeschooled. If there are any grammar problems in this script ignore. But I rather struggle to teach my own child if I see problems where he is struggling in public schools. More to say but just homeschool.

Aug 10, 2010
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no
by: Anonymous

I have taught children from Pre-k to grade eight. In all my years of teaching I have seen children go through all these things and it actually makes them a stronger individual because of it. Do you want your child to be a productive member of society or do you want someone who is a loner. I am not against homeschooling in certain circumstances, such as behavioral problems and learning problems would be a good option for those children if the parent was all willing. But children need to socialize even if they are having some issues with it especially at grade K. These children are just beginning and they are being taught what is right from wrong and how to socialize. I hope this helped you.

Aug 10, 2010
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Follow your mother's heart
by: Ms. B.

First of all, Anonymous has no idea what s/he is talking about. I doubt s/he has any experience with home schoolers whatsoever.

Secondly, yes, you should home school your child as the Lord seems to be leading you. I am a single home schooling parent of 3 fabulous kids and have been home schooling them since birth.

When my husb left us 10 years ago, my oldest was 6, dd 4, and dd 1yo. I was devastated as all my family dreams came crashing down. I had been seeking counseling and renewed relationship with the Lord long before he left, so the first thing I did was in my heart, lay my children on the "Altar" so to speak. I told the Lord I would do whatever He led me to do - I told Him I trusted that He loved and cared for them even more than I did.

Long story short - He answered my dearest dream - He closed the doors to the local charter school and opened tutoring opportunities for me, and connections with other home schooling parents all around.

I joined HSLDA and a co-op that held parent meetings in the evenings, and I ended up teaching classes at another co-op that accommodated my children's needs while I taught.

Now we all have different job skills and circumstances, but the Lord is faithful and he does thoroughly care for our children even more than we do. Follow your mother's heart - He's put it into you for a reason. Next to Him, you know your child's needs best.

Aug 10, 2010
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Re: Follow your mother's heart
by: Heather

Beautiful reply. Thanks for your wonderful words of wisdom and sharing your story. May God continue to bless and provide for you and your children.
Blessings,
Heather

Aug 12, 2010
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?
by: TRACY

Thank you all so much for your comments. My son is 14 years old and the public school system has given me a sour taste in my mouth. As a 40 year old African American working on my Doctrine degree, I want my son to do more than what I have accomplished. My son made A's, B's and 1 D (73) on Language Arts and he failed the EOG twice and they failed him. He is ADHD and I advised the school to place him in a smaller setting when taking tests, but they did the opposite. Now he is going to 15 years old in the 7th grade. All he talks about now is quitting school. I am in NC and desperately need my son to succeed in life. I refuse to allow him to be another African American drop out in NC. They retained him because he did not pass the Reading EOG, why couldn’t they just give me extending classes in Reading in the 8th grade - he has a hard time focusing. He is NOT dumb, just can not concentrate for long periods of time. The schools system SUCKS! I am very disappointed - they say NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND- OMG!! PLEASE! They just left MY child behind! How to I find someone to home school my child so he can reach his potential grade. Thank you for reading from an ANGRY MOTHER!

Aug 12, 2010
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start searching
by: Ms. B.

Tracy,

Again, follow your heart and see where the Lord leads you - it's not easy, but God did give parents do have an instinctive sense of what their children need if they are willing to listen.

Here's what I would do in your shoes - first of all I would pray for guidance. Then I would do a google search for home school groups in your area and contact every one of them. See what kind of support they offer. You may find a co-op situation that offers weekly ala carte classes for your son. There are also oodles of online classes to choose from. The key is to check these things out and investigate how they might meet your son's needs better. What I hope you find is lots of support for how to make it work in your situation. I would also become a member of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) - their resources are invaluable.

Home schooling ones own children is a serious commitment. Taking on another parent's child is also a serious undertaking, but it does happen. I have had a number of students in my writing classes over the last 10 years who were under the guidance of another home schooling family in agreement with their own parents. I think of one dear young man whose mom had passed away the year before. His mom's friend and her husband were home schoolers. They took him under their wing and blessed him and his dad in a tangible way.

For any married folks reading this - please prayerfully consider how your family or church might be able to bless the single moms/dads in your area. They may be secretly wishing they could homeschool, but just don't have the support. The truth is, single parents can't always attend support group meetings during the day when they are working, and they're exhausted at night, thus easily isolated. To have a brothers and sisters in the Lord come alongside and encourage them is such a gift.

Also, keep children of single parents who are home schooling in mind when those afternoon activities and field trips come up. A mom of one of my co-op students called me up out of the blue and offered to pick my daughter up each week for a gymnastics class while I was working. I can't tell you how much that meant to us. It may have seemed like a small thing to her - all she did was swing by, pick her up, and bring her home - but it was huge to us.

Blessings to you Tracy. The road is not easy, but it's worth it.

Sep 01, 2011
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Lynden homeschoolers?
by: Chris Davis

Question: My name is Chris Davis, former owner of The Elijah Company and homeschooler for almost 30 years. I am moving to Lynden next week and wondered if there is a group of homeschoolers in Lynden, WA.

Thank you for your response.

Chris Davis

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Should I Home School My Child? Please Help!

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Should I Home School My Child? Please Help!