I know that I've posted this here before, but I couldn't find it when I searched for it. And, I promise whole armor that I would post my homeschooling story up here.
Nori
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Widowed - Homeschooling Before and After
I began homeschooling my, then seven year old, daughter in October, 1997 at the suggestion of a public school teacher. This teacher told me that public schools in California are no longer able to cope with young students who are more intelligent than the average child. When my husband heard this, he backed me all the way.
We had no great expectations when we began homeschooling. All we wanted was to give our daughter the best education possible. Of course, it didn't hurt that we could now freely teach our daughter about our faith without having the school teach her that it was wrong to be a Christian.
I was a stay-at-home-mom. So, I was the primary educator. My husband took on the role of administrator/principal/grader. And, our daughter blossomed under our care. It seemed like she was getting smarter as the days went by (of course, I am biased). This went on for two years.
Then, in January, 1999, my husband passed away from a stroke while at work. Our world turned upside down. Without his income, we couldn't afford to stay in California. Thank God he had planned for this (although he thought it would be years before we had to deal with it). He worked as a correctional officer for the state of California and had a very good retirement program. With his last month's pay, my daughter and I loaded up our van and left California for Indiana. I was able to put a down payment on a house and continue homeschooling my daughter.
Without my husband, homeschooling has been different. It's definitely more difficult since my daughter was a Daddy's girl. Our budget for curriculum and supplies is tighter. This year, I began making my own curriculum centered around my daughter's interests. It makes school a little more fun for my daughter.
The way Indiana handles homeschoolers is different too. In California, I either had to go through a charter school or file an R-4 affidavit to turn my home into a private school. In Indiana, all I had to do was let the state know that I plan on homeschooling. I had to keep detailed records in California for the charter school. In Indiana, all I have to keep is attendance. The charter school in California wanted me to have my daughter tested every year to make sure she was at or above grade level. I had my daughter tested last year for the first time since coming to Indiana so that I would know what grade level she was at, but the state does not require it at all.
Homeschooling has never been "easy" for us. My family and my husband's family were dead-set against it when I was in California. Both families thought that a child needed to experience public school life. I laugh at that now. Both families now know that homeschooling has been the best thing for my daughter. They know that she's a very intelligent girl.
There have been times when both my daughter and I needed a break from each other for a while. Once, I put her in the local public school. I will never, never do that again! Her grades went from A's and B's with me to C's and D's with the school. And, I had warned the teacher that if the work didn't challenge her, she would refuse to do it. The other time we took a break was when I was asked to teach Spanish in our church's private school. That went okay. Her grades stayed up where they belonged. The only problem was that I was told out of the eleven students attending (one second grader, one fourth grader, my daughter - then in sixth grade, three seventh graders, and on high school sophomore) the school, my daughter was the smartest one. They were surprised that I would enrol her because, in their own words, most of the students wouldn't make it in public school.
That was the last time I will ever enrol her in any school. My daughter and I have an extremely close relationship. And, like any other twelve and thirteen year old, she keeps changing her mind about what she wants to do when she "grows up." I pray that I can keep up with her as she learns. I know I wouldn't have gotten this far without God's hand on my shoulder.
Written October 16, 2002
Nori
****************************************
Widowed - Homeschooling Before and After
I began homeschooling my, then seven year old, daughter in October, 1997 at the suggestion of a public school teacher. This teacher told me that public schools in California are no longer able to cope with young students who are more intelligent than the average child. When my husband heard this, he backed me all the way.
We had no great expectations when we began homeschooling. All we wanted was to give our daughter the best education possible. Of course, it didn't hurt that we could now freely teach our daughter about our faith without having the school teach her that it was wrong to be a Christian.
I was a stay-at-home-mom. So, I was the primary educator. My husband took on the role of administrator/principal/grader. And, our daughter blossomed under our care. It seemed like she was getting smarter as the days went by (of course, I am biased). This went on for two years.
Then, in January, 1999, my husband passed away from a stroke while at work. Our world turned upside down. Without his income, we couldn't afford to stay in California. Thank God he had planned for this (although he thought it would be years before we had to deal with it). He worked as a correctional officer for the state of California and had a very good retirement program. With his last month's pay, my daughter and I loaded up our van and left California for Indiana. I was able to put a down payment on a house and continue homeschooling my daughter.
Without my husband, homeschooling has been different. It's definitely more difficult since my daughter was a Daddy's girl. Our budget for curriculum and supplies is tighter. This year, I began making my own curriculum centered around my daughter's interests. It makes school a little more fun for my daughter.
The way Indiana handles homeschoolers is different too. In California, I either had to go through a charter school or file an R-4 affidavit to turn my home into a private school. In Indiana, all I had to do was let the state know that I plan on homeschooling. I had to keep detailed records in California for the charter school. In Indiana, all I have to keep is attendance. The charter school in California wanted me to have my daughter tested every year to make sure she was at or above grade level. I had my daughter tested last year for the first time since coming to Indiana so that I would know what grade level she was at, but the state does not require it at all.
Homeschooling has never been "easy" for us. My family and my husband's family were dead-set against it when I was in California. Both families thought that a child needed to experience public school life. I laugh at that now. Both families now know that homeschooling has been the best thing for my daughter. They know that she's a very intelligent girl.
There have been times when both my daughter and I needed a break from each other for a while. Once, I put her in the local public school. I will never, never do that again! Her grades went from A's and B's with me to C's and D's with the school. And, I had warned the teacher that if the work didn't challenge her, she would refuse to do it. The other time we took a break was when I was asked to teach Spanish in our church's private school. That went okay. Her grades stayed up where they belonged. The only problem was that I was told out of the eleven students attending (one second grader, one fourth grader, my daughter - then in sixth grade, three seventh graders, and on high school sophomore) the school, my daughter was the smartest one. They were surprised that I would enrol her because, in their own words, most of the students wouldn't make it in public school.
That was the last time I will ever enrol her in any school. My daughter and I have an extremely close relationship. And, like any other twelve and thirteen year old, she keeps changing her mind about what she wants to do when she "grows up." I pray that I can keep up with her as she learns. I know I wouldn't have gotten this far without God's hand on my shoulder.
Written October 16, 2002
