Thinking of homeschooling my children thru a Christian program....so do any of yall home school,and if so what are the pros and cons.....Jefferson County Schools are garbage

Our family homeschools, as do several others on here.

I could write a long dissertation on the subject, but I won't.

Pros: You get to tailor the curriculum to match your child's unique learning style, strengths, capabilities, and speed. Flexibility. More info covered in less time. Lots of choices on courses in home or through co-op. Free to teach Christ and traditional values. Opportunity for character building.

Cons: Parents feeling the pressure to make sure child is prepared for college, career, life. Dealing with the grind, keeping kids focused and striving for excellence...fighting complacency since little peer pressure to achieve. Learning how to focus on learning and not test scores.

Feel free to get in touch with me. Could meet up for lunch and talk.

We homeschooled all of our children until the 7th grade then enrolled them in a local Christian school. We still homeschool my 6th grade son and have not made a decision if we will continue after the 6th grade or not. The pros begin with the curriculum and the fact that you choose what to teach, lessons are one on one so kids dont get lost in big classes, you know the teachers(which is you) and their values, which are passed on to the your kids, class time can be set according to your hunting and fishing schedule, but most importantly it allows you to provide a firm foundation before they enter a world that is ready to tear them down.

Cons. It is a great responsibility, it is frustrating at times to teach your own kids, as of now kids are not allowed to play sports or participate in school sponsored events.

If that is where God is leading you then trust Him and things will work out.

We home schooled our one son. It was great. We did as we travelled for our business. My wife taught him from a cirriculum.

Pros: He graduated at 20 from Birmingham Southern College after recieving a huge scholarship and being one of 23 students admitted under the Harrison Honors program.
He graduated from the Harrison honors program cum laude in just 3 years. Double majored and has a degree in both poli sci and socialogy...and is going to go to law school.

Cons:
What straycat said. We think it was the best thing you can do. WE kept him in other things like karate, church, volunteering, etc to keep his social skills good. Also, he was traveling around the country in our business and really hanging out with adults and kids from all over.

We also took him to Europe around 12 times and he interacted with kids from ALL cultures and countries. Totally a positive experience.

I appreciate the response, my wife and I are exhausted with the public school system. So I believe in my heart this is the best thing to do. I was concerned at first because my son was enrolled in the gifted program because he has a very rare high IQ and they actually offer a program for him as well.

Do this.
Mike is a straight up good guy.

We do it. It works fairly well for us. My wife handles it all because I am at the local salt mine 24-7. Anyway, you can pm me and I can get her to fill you in.

To me, the biggest pro is that anyone can do it nowadays. Most of what we do is online. We also do some co-op classes. Either way, you don't have to be a certified teacher or know everything in order to do this. There are lots of resources that were not available just a few years ago. There are also home school support groups out there where you can get help, buy or sell curriculum, and take part in social events.

I echo what everyone has said. One major pro that has not been listed (don't think anyway), is the flexibility it provides your family. If I can get off work, guess what? My wife and kids are already off too, and at home. If we want to do something with the family it's not a huge ordeal trying to get mom and dad both off at the same time.

Don't worry about the opinions of those who think that HS kids are socially awkward. Socially awkward kids are usually the product of awkward parents, and there are plenty of those in public school too.

Well chalk it up as done ..my kids are officially gonna be home schooled. Both kids including myself are excited. Gonna be a little rough on me working a full time job, and I am also a full term engineering student in college. And now I will be a teacher for my kids

Good deal Hopper.

We home school as well. Mine are a year apart and went to pre k and kindergarten at a private school. They are now in 4th and 5th. We found a church league for sports and they played basketball, baseball, softball, and were in a running club so they are around other kids all the time. They both play park league baseball or softball now and are fine with the other kids. It has worked out well so far.

We did it, but honestly, I think it's a crock. Sry. But so is the public edcutation system. I will never give or vote for any tax money for either program. Cause..... No matter how much you givem it's never enough. My mother taught 33 years, had her Mst. and a Dr. Just saying.

The ABEKA program is good Christian based program for home schooling from what I'm told by friends that have homeschooled. My children started school at a small Christian private school and they used ABEKA. My wife, who is a highly educated and experienced teacher loves it and wishes they could use it in public schools.

I am not sure what program we will be using,however I will find out and let yall know. However if I can see the word ...god...in something it is definitely of interest to me. Man yall have me stoked about this ....in am excited that perhaps I made a good executive decision. My plans were to eventually put them in a Christian private school, however I am financially 3 years out. Of course yall could understand my concern initially as the education and we'll being of my children are of utmost importance

Probably gonna be hated for saying this but we need true Christian kids in public schools and private schools. How are you going to be the salt and light in the world if you stay at home?

The word hate is not in my vocabulary and I respect everyone's opinion likewise. However the closing of multiple schools have overloaded the public schools classrooms that at one time were very good schools causing these schools to become not as capable of providing a good teacher to student interaction. The public school system has in my opinion failed itself, well at least jefferson county. It probaly cost me 2400 a year to send my kids to public school,not that the cost matter, but as a tax payer I think public education should be free.

Kids don't stand and recite the pledge anymore, kids get sent to the office for blessing their food before lunch, my kids are in the 4th and 5th grade, they don't even get to have recess on the playground...instead they have computer time. Both of my children make the honor roll every year. I am just fed up with what public school has become.

No hate from here Phil. My kids go to a private school with a secular curriculum but the students and teachers are free to worship as they choose. Many, many, of the kids are devout Christians and are positive influences and witnesses to the others. The football coach is one of the most Godly young men I've met. There is no doubt he is making a difference in some lives, including my son. BTW Phil, you'd love him as his dad is ex-LB Wingo of Bama fame. Man is my age and still looks like he can step back into the NFL.

I should also mention the counselor, who works closer with the kids than any school counselor I've ever met. She stresses Christ with them and has led many to be saved, as well as working with the kids to secure hundreds of thousands in Schollys (combined) every year.

I was homeschooled using this program and graduated high school in 2002. ABEKA is produced by Pensacola Christian College/Academy down in Pensacola, Florida. They have video classes for high school that were filmed at Pensacola Christian Academy. I attended PCC and got my undergrad in Accounting and immediately got a job in public accounting in Destin, FL at a top local firm. I then went on to get my Masters in Accounting from University of West Florida and passed the CPA exam. I now work for the Department of Defense as an auditor in Huntsville. Now here are some pros/cons.

Pros: Setting your own schedule. We would start by 7 every morning and be done by 12 - 1 most days. The flexibility was great. My parents were able to make sure that I was getting a quality education while passing along solid Christian values.

Cons: Lack of social interaction was the main issue for me; however, there are many more options to connect with other homeschoolers these days. Also, Alabama is now considering the Tim Tebow Bill (http://www.timtebowbill.com/) which would allow homeschoolers to participate in public school sports. I believe it has passed the House already.

My wife and I are seriously considering our children. It is extremely important to us to see that they are taught Christian values and receive a quality education, which I don't think can be obtained via this Common Core curriculum. Glad to see there are others on this site with success stories.

Make sure its acredited. There's alot of home school programs that basically are just good for high school diploma and arnt acredited toward college classes.