[...] Why I Don’t Miss Homeschooling [...]

What makes me laugh is when people send their kids to kindergarten claiming they homeschooled preschool. That’s not homeschooling. That’s basic parenting.

Ps… the traffic cop thing is more a personality issue than a type of homeschooling mom syndrome. While punctuality is very important to me as a sign or respect for others, my kids can wear whatever they want as they don’t offend anyone.

I hope you enjoy being a public school mom once the “honeymoon” has worn off. I’ve heard many similar stories that wound up with the child returning to homeschooling a year or two later (if not sooner).

I find it very interesting that people somehow believe that a homeschooling mom needs to critique and judge and a “regular” mom doesn’t. I’ve unschooled my kids for most of their lives, but they have also gone to school. I find that when they are home, they are simply put, nicer people all around. We are more respectful of each other because we do spend a lot of time together. I also love the idea of people homeschooling preschool – ummm…what? I also appreciate the low stress morning – which is great for kindergarten, but wait until the homework starts coming home, and the friends start coming over and she starts to want to be stylish. I love to read articles by mothers of one child under the age of 4 or 5. I know that someday reality will kick in…

I don’t get the impression that she is shirking her parental role, nor that she won’t adjust as the kid grows and school changes. I think she’s just chilling a bit and taking advantage of the fact that she now has dedicated professionals carrying the bulk of the educational load, which is probably healthy. As for teachers becoming scheduling dictators, I think that’s exactly the kind of thing she is relishing about this arrangement.

I got some bad news for you, if you sent your oldest child to kindergarten when she was 5, you never home-schooled your children – you are not qualified to weigh in on this matter. Playing with your children when they are 1,2,3,4 years old is not homeschooling, even if you read to them awhile. DO us all a favor, and don’t call your self a former homeschooler, you are not and never where.

I agree with bob.

Also, I don’t know if anyone else read the original essay in Motherlode, but that author does not mention anything about having a problem with her son’s education or that he was not happy. She wants to homeschool because she is missing the time she used to have with her son when he needed her more. I’m trying not to be judgmental, because we all do selfish things. (Really, having a child in the first place is pretty selfish.) However, I wonder what other homeschooling parents think about this as a reason to homeschool.

Kudos to the author! We have friends and acquaintances who aligned themselves with the homeschooling movement when their children were fetuses. This has always bugged me because I think it’s so important to take your child’s personality and wants into consideration when making decisions about their education. I also want to point out that there are wonderful school options that allow children and parents flexibility and choices. My little one will be starting at an awesome Montessori school in the fall. I get so tired of reading about how awful school is from homeschooling and unschooling moms. Not all schools are the same and not all children are the same. Not all mothers want to stay home. I also take issue with the contention that the author’s current situation isn’t “reality.” I think it’s dismissive to suggest that her reality isn’t true. It speaks to the notion that we all have different experiences and that not all schools, children or families are the same.

Why is it always the daytrippers that write the op-ed pieces on homeschooling? I’m sorry but caring for your child until the age of 5 at home is everyday parenting in my view.

Crimson Wife: Around here there are two public Montessori schools, charter schools, magnet schools, regular public schools, religious schools, and private Montessori schools. The private schools cost nowhere near $25k. My daughter’s is $8k/year and many families receive scholarships. I recognize that I live in a great area when it comes to education choices and that my family is privileged that we can pay tuition for our child. My point in all of this was to show that not all schools are not created equally and there is a lot of gray area in between homeschooling or “unschooling” and stringent public schools where it is assumed that children are expected to sit down and shut up for 6 hours a day.

Oops- I meant to say, “not all schools are created equally”. I wish there was an edit feature here.

The woman who wrote this article never REALLY homeschooled. What do you learn in preschool? The ABC’s? Counting to ten? Really, it seems to me as if that should be basic parenting. To really know what homeschooling is like, you have to homeschool at least a 1st grader, if not an older child. Also, kindergarten? My first daughter went to a month of it before I started homeschooling her. She wasn’t learning anything, having done all the work in preschool, no one in the class would speak to ‘the short girl’, and the teachers enforced naptime like it was life or death. And that was with private school. I’ve heard entirely too many stories about public school to risk that, and those are my only three options. So to sum up my comment, you have to homeschool at least a 6 or 7 year old to know what it’s like, and most people don’t have a dozen different options to send their kid(s) to.

I have to agree that the author has just been parenting for 5 years, not really homeschooling. As a parent of 6, 2 of which have graduated from high school and college, 2 in college at 13 and 16 and two in elementary, I have never felt like “the police” at any stage. And allowing your child to be late to something isn’t teaching them anything but rudeness. I’m sorry, but it IS your job to teach them to be socially responsible and acceptable. That is NOT the job of a teacher (having taught myself)! If you think a teacher is there to teach your child how to behave than I’m so VERY happy you don’t live near us!

Anna your ignorance is showing “the rest of the world” doesn’t universally consider punctuality “respectful” or even necessary. Native Americans for one functions as a society on “Indian Time” and there are dozens other example’s I could cite, frankly if the rest of the world would forgive ten minutes like the author does it would probably be a happier place.(Or at least a more relaxed one)

Saying you “homeschooled” your daughter before you sent her off to kindergarten is like saying you are a “single parent” if your husband goes on a 2 day business trip. Give me a break. How could you miss or not miss something you never did?

Seriously, this post is condescending, arrogant, irrelevant, and inaccurate.