Chasing a dream

orange150 said:
There are a handful of people that have home-schooled their children in my office. All of them, on separate occasions, have told me this.
They've said that because your solely focused on just your child, and not 20 some odd other children, you can get through an entire days worth of lessons before lunch.
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Accurate. There's a lot of folks who homeschool in out area, and I dont know of any who need more than 4 or 5 hours, and that family has eight kids.
 
We homeschooled during the 20-21 school year. It truly only took a couple hours a day, and my son ended up way ahead in math because he has a math/number brain like I do. Also, my wife totally hated it and we put him in public school the next year and it has helped fix some of his habits and issues. But the technical side of learning is much more efficient for most homeschooling. I honestly bet he has regressed in math because of the stupid things they are teaching him, BUT putting him in public school was the best thing we ever did for him without a doubt.
 
I can second planning to install a 2nd ac. The last camper we had was 35' very similar layout and one ac was miserable in heat above 90°. That's a nice camper with a great layout for a family to live in.
 
orange150 said:
There are a handful of people that have home-schooled their children in my office. All of them, on separate occasions, have told me this.
They've said that because your solely focused on just your child, and not 20 some odd other children, you can get through an entire days worth of lessons before lunch.
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I guess that is doable after working all day, but would be miserable. I WFH for the past 2.5 years. I guess I could have started school at 6pm after dinner and been done by 10-11pm.
 
I wish you all the luck in the world @77GreenMachine. I said it to your face and behind your back, you have bigger balls than I do to do what you're about to. Go kick some ass.
Only remotely compareable thing I ever did was when my wife and I gave up our careers, sold our toys, moved to Raleigh to "help" family with the lumber buisness back in 2012. It didn't initially work how we envisioned, so we simply sold our house down there, tucked tail and came back up 40 West.
Should this not pan out as you wish, you can do them same. You also have/had the sack to try.
I'm happy for you guys, truly.
 
drkelly said:
That is surprising. My son goes to school all day, then does 3-4 hours of homework every night (which he needs help with). He is in 6th grade.
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JSJJ388 said:
And that is one of the huge benefits. The amount of wasted time at public schools is ridiculous. We are doing preschool, and my teaches for about 1.5 hrs. She spends maybe another hour prepping for the next day. Fair disclaimer, we are brand new at this. But she has been researching and preparing for 2 years now.
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Its very true. I know many who have homeschooled their kids and we have several in our robotics program.
As mentioned the biggest difference is that the time is 100% about your kid. I'm a huge proponent of public education, but the undeniable truth is that 75% of the time is spent working with/teaching to "other kids" and is essentially wasted. Every homeschool kid I know, except the really dumb ones, spend half the time in "school" and graduate early/younger.
 
RatLabGuy said:
Its very true. I know many who have homeschooled their kids and we have several in our robotics program.
As mentioned the biggest difference is that the time is 100% about your kid. I'm a huge proponent of public education, but the undeniable truth is that 75% of the time is spent working with/teaching to "other kids" and is essentially wasted. Every homeschool kid I know, except the really dumb ones, spend half the time in "school" and graduate early/younger.
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I know a few, they are all pretty weird. This thread is already derailed but if you get virtually the same education just over a longer period but are also socialized and exposed to different points of views and experiences I'd say one is clearly better than the other. Just like anything else the children whose parents spent 2 hrs after school with them expanding on what they've learned are miles ahead as well.
 
braxton357 said:
I know a few, they are all pretty weird. This thread is already derailed but if you get virtually the same education just over a longer period but are also socialized and exposed to different points of views and experiences I'd say one is clearly better than the other. Just like anything else the children whose parents spent 2 hrs after school with them expanding on what they've learned are miles ahead as well.
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Yep. Homeschooling is great from an efficient learning of material standpoint. It sucks from a social skills standpoint. The people who do well do it as part of a consotium where they do activities w/ other kids, share the teaching, etc.

Which, to bring it back to relevance, is more likely where @77GreenMachine is to struggle. Not finding the time for teaching, but just ensuring the kiddos still get plenty of time to interact w/ other kids. I'm sure there will be plenty of chances and it will work out though.
 
braxton357 said:
I know a few, they are all pretty weird. This thread is already derailed but if you get virtually the same education just over a longer period but are also socialized and exposed to different points of views and experiences I'd say one is clearly better than the other. Just like anything else the children whose parents spent 2 hrs after school with them expanding on what they've learned are miles ahead as well.
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This is a big thing for us. We are prioritizing getting the boys out and interacting with other kids.
 
Every state has different rules but the NC DNPE requires a standardized test be given once a year. Many use the CAT until they can start taking the ACT. Kids planning to go to college are taking the ACT or SAT in 9th or 10th grade and they're taking it more than once.

I'm sure there are about as many shitty homeschool parents as there are shitty public school teachers. I've never known any homeschooling parents that aren't more on top of things than the average parent because they have to know what's going on and manage their time super efficiently.

There are 168 hours in a week. Assuming you need 56 for sleep and 40 for a F-T job, plus let's call it 9 for preparing food/eating 3x a day and another 8 for working out (if you're into that), there's still 30 hours left in the week. If you learn to manage your time (still working on it myself), you can do whatever you prioritize. I used to work with a lady who homeschooled her three kids before and after her day job. I think they spent the day with her mom and so did some work there, but it's all about what you put into it. The younger grades require less actual time but more parental time, where the upper grades are more independent but almost certainly require more time on the subject matter.

Like already mentioned, many homeschool families take the opportunity to outsource at least some subjects or activities to co-ops or online courses. Some use a boxed or online curriculum that's all ready to go with no planning or much time invested by the parents. The resources for high school and college-prep courses for middle and high school level are many (not to mention the potential for dual enrollment at a CC or local Uni) and the free resources for pre-K and up are almost limitless.

The benefits of the flexibility are immeasurable... to finish up before lunch or to spend the extra time on a project they're really jazzed about without it impacting 'instruction time'... or to take advantage of a field trip or other activity when it isn't crowded with after school or track out kids... or to enjoy the amazing weather and just be kids with the tracked out neighbor friend. Not to mention the kids not being burned out after 8 hours of school (see also, too burned out to spend another 2-4 hours on homework or 'extras' with their involved parents) to then devote more hours of the week to extracurriculars like instrument lessons, sports/martial arts, First or Robotics, etc.
 
In my experience from traveling and camping with ours on Grand Tour trips and anywhere else we go, most kids don't need help making friends or interacting/socializing. Kids in campgrounds are almost all about new friends and playing with whoever is available. Talk about a way to be exposed to different points of views and experiences... not to mention being comfortable interacting with people of different ages than their own. There are unsociable people (that probably started out as unsociable kids) but one thing I've always noticed about homeschooled kids is the vast majority can carry on a conversation with an adult almost as well as they can play whatever game with a kid their own age or be kind enough to include a little sibling in the play.
 
RatLabGuy said:
Which, to bring it back to relevance, is more likely where @77GreenMachine is to struggle. Not finding the time for teaching, but just ensuring the kiddos still get plenty of time to interact w/ other kids. I'm sure there will be plenty of chances and it will work out though.
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To your point - its not just about interacting that I'd worry about. Its about developing relationships and navigating that process.

IOW kids can interact at a trampoline park, or campground and learn to small talk, introduce and socialize.

What is a bit bigger challenge is the long term lesson of 'Sally has been my best friend since first grade. Now in 5th grade her and Emily are super close. I am still ok as a person even though Sally likes Emily more than me today and it doent mean I have to hate Sally forever"...and to be clear that is a process. We all have experienced kid friendships come and go. And through those and the pain associated they grow and learn to be better functional adults. They raise their EQ along with their IQ, and learn to navigate the political waters found in almost every job environment. I feel like this is a key part of educational development not many talk about.
 
I had a crazy day of meetings and just catching up here. Looks like the homeschool thing has been answered for me. I suppose there is still the stigma of “weird unsocialized home school kids” these days. Fact is it could be that way for some but not at all for us. My kids are very socialized.
Both go to a Co-Op for other home school kids twice a week and they also play soccer. They are more socialized than most kids these days cause they don’t stay glued to video games, the internet and TV.

It does only take a few hours to get the curriculum done, sometimes more or less. My wife handles most of it but I do it some also as I work from home a lot. My wife works part time so she has the ability to juggle both.

There’s many good points being made here. Home school may not be for us permanently, but it’s what we are doing for right now. It’s not for everyone, and that’s ok.

Some folks can put their kids in the best school and still produce a weird loser that can’t problem solve and deal with things emotionally. I think it’s got a lot to do with the parental involvement and the character and values one tries their best to instill into their kids.
 
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GMAC said:
But did you put a offer on the buggy?
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No. It’s not advertised for sale anywhere, just someone who will sell it. It’s a strong contender, but I need to wait a little bit. I don’t have time to fool with any of that right now. I gotta focus on getting this camper ready and getting out of this house and then I can focus on finding a buggy.
There’s a really nice M&M buggy that I love also. But I want to post up on the rock crawling pages and see what all is available before I make a decision.
 
braxton357 said:
Get you a nice 4 seater f toy. Can't break anything with 85hp, great on gas, only medium ugly and can get one for cheap
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You may be joking - but for what he’s planning that may well be the most reliable & fun option he could possibly end up with
 
Jody Treadway said:
I wish you all the luck in the world @77GreenMachine. I said it to your face and behind your back, you have bigger balls than I do to do what you're about to. Go kick some ass.
Only remotely compareable thing I ever did was when my wife and I gave up our careers, sold our toys, moved to Raleigh to "help" family with the lumber buisness back in 2012. It didn't initially work how we envisioned, so we simply sold our house down there, tucked tail and came back up 40 West.
Should this not pan out as you wish, you can do them same. You also have/had the sack to try.
I'm happy for you guys, truly.
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This, Its not like your a crack head and the wife is; (insert what you prefer). I'm not ballsy enough to tell a feller he did "good" let alone insult your better half!

In the end everyone in the family is gonna learn more about themselves and life is to dang precious to not go live it. I cannot think of a more ideal situation. Why?

THE FAMILY IS ONBOARD. That's key.
 
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