-=> Quoting Mark Towne to Sylvia Steiger <=-
 MT> Hello Sylvia:
 
 SS>You really have my sympathy.  I started early with mine for
 SS>just that
 SS>reason.  But other parents who have started with older kids
 SS>have
 SS>reported that they needed a "deprogramming" time of at least
 SS>one month
 SS>for each year of public schooling.
 MT> My 13 year old daughter is "opting" for homeschooling.  She states
 MT> that she would like to give it a try.  In your opinion,...even if
 MT> homeschooling is her own idea, do you think that there is a 1:12
 MT> deprogramming time still applicable (generally speaking)? 
 MT> If we decide to go forward with it,...that would give us a 7 month
 MT> planning and setup time, to put a plan together,...and get ourselves
 MT> organized.  I am thinking that we really need to "talk it up" with
 MT> Julie,...and get her inputs and committment to the success of the
 MT> plan.  She has a friend who is homeschooled, and this is where she has
 MT> gotten her motivation. (Although our thoughts on Public School
 MT> curriculums, and implementation are not foreign to her,..). 
 MT> I think that we need to have Julie sit down with her friend and "see"
 MT> the kinds and types of material that are used in homeschooling.  I
 MT> would like to see it as well.  Perhaps I "really" need to dialog with
 MT> her Mother, and sit down with the parents "guide" for a given
 MT> subject...to see what is needed/required. 
 MT> Do you have any inputs or suggestions?
 I would like to butt in here.  First off you must find out what your
 state requires.  Second trips to the library to find out some info helps.
 We here have made our own curriculumn.  We use TV programs, trips, computers
 and whatever we can get our hands on.  I have one book to help me through
 some of the basics, English and stuff, but don't always follow it to the
 tee.  Sometimes I go forward in it and sometimes I go backwards.  Just
 depends.  Some subjects take longer to get the point across, some they
 know already and there is no point to going over it many times.  We have
 library days, reports we do and some speech classes (reading reports
 outloud or what you call communication skills).  Is there a reason at
 school the child is opting for homeschooling.  My one son became physically
 ill over the pressure at school.  He does great at home.  The family
 is also becoming very close.  In fact they have even stepped back and
 decided some of their friends are too weird or troublemakers to play with.
 I like that.  Friends are not the center of their life anymore.  They
 even asked for school things to do during Christmans vacation.  The other
 nite they could not sleep and got out their workbooks and worked on school
 things.  Eagerness to learn definetly has increased.  The parents must
 be dedicated and somewhat organized tho with a few basic rules the child
 needs to follow.  But don't use too many rules the whole point to home-
 schooling in my opinion, is to create a relaxed atmosphere so they can
 reach their learning potential without all the stress public school
 offers.   Good Luck.
 Regina
... I call things as I see them; If I didn't see them, I make them up!
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