Straight from the Horse’s Mouth

I recently read a blog on Simple Homeschool a blog that inspired me for today’s post.  I decided to ask the kiddos some questions about homeschool.  I told them that they were free to say anything-nothing would be held against them.  I asked each of them a few questions including: 1) Do you like homeschooling and why? 2) What are the down sides to homeschooling? 3) Academically, what is favorite part of homeschooling and what is your favorite curriculum? 4) What do you want to change for next year?

Sims- Sims is my 11 year old son.  He loves to bike and be outdoors.  He wants to be a survivalist, a smoke jumper or maybe a doctor.  He completed the fifth grade this year.  Here is what he said:

I like homeschooling a lot because I get to hike and to me more of me.  (I am not sure when he is not himself, but again these are his words and not mine).  I like to bike a lot which I can do throughout the day.  I also can hang out with my friends more and still do activities because I can play during the day.  If I could change anything, I would like to see my other friends more. (Obviously, this has more to do with the fact that his friends attend different schools and then they do different after school activities.  They see each other in the summer).  Homeschooling lets me learn at my own pace and I can research more stuff.  My favorite curriculum is Dancing Bears and Spelling (Apples and Pears- OMG!  Can you believe that my child with dyslexia puts fluency and spelling at the top!)  My favorite activity that we do is Muddy Boots Club at Latta Plantation and OUtdoor Leadership.  Next year, I would really like to work outside more (I hope this happens too.  We had a lot of rain and cold weather this year).

Sawyer- Sawyer is my 9 year old daughter.  She loves to read, dance and do gymnastics.  She wants to be a photographer or a fashion designer when she grows up.  This year, she completed the third grade.  Below are her comments:

I like homeschooling because you get to do more stuff.  You have more freedom to go places and meet a lot people and families.  I would like to get to see my friends everyday.  My favorite school activities are my main lesson work where I get to draw, dance, Latta Plantation classes and hanging with my friends.  I like that homeschooling is short and that there is no yelling (really?  I feel like we yell way more than I like..maybe not?)  I also like that you can work anywhere-especially outside.  Next year I would really like to do more nature studies.  Why are we doing this again?

Last but not least is Parks.  Parks is my 7 year old dare-devil of a son.  He loves anything crazy that most people would be scared to do but he also loves art and animals.  He wants to be dolphin trainer or a cheetah rescuer when he grows up.  He finished up his first grade year.  Here is what he said:

I like homeschooling because we get to travel and go outside more.  (He got a seat in a local charter and chose not to go next year so I asked him why he made this choice).  At that school, I wouldn’t get to go outside as much as I do now.  I thought about going because I want to hang out with more kids my age but when you see them everyday, they become like your brothers and sisters.  Homeschooling doesn’t let you make a lot of friends.  You make good friends but a lot of times they move away and that is hard.  I like that I get to pick what I want to research like cheetahs.  My favorite thing to do is math on the computer (teaching textbooks) because I can do it on my own.  I also like going to classes at Latta Plantation and getting tadpoles. Next year I would like to make the rules more fun.  I want to be allowed to do more dangerous stuff (yep, that is pretty much what I expected him to say or something similar like next year I want to be able jump off of the roof..LOL).

Overall, I think they are enjoying their educational opportunity.  We spoke today about going back to school and they all opted to keep homeschooling-even if it means doing some school through the summer (they have a mean teacher).