The 12 Days of Homeschool

A friend sent this to me - and thought I'd share this. For those of you who homeschool, I think you will appreciate it! I've the questions below too. :)

The 12 Days of Homeschool
(Sung to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas")

On the ___ day of homeschool my neighbor said to me:

1. Can you homeschool legally?
2. Are they socialized?
3. Do you give them tests?
4. What about P.E.?
5. You are so strange!
6. I could never do this.
7. How do you do field trips?
8. Are you qualified?
9. What about graduation?
10. What about the prom?
11. Can they go to college?
12. Will they get a job?

1. Can you homeschool legally? Yes! Each state is different with their requirements. In Michigan we must do it for religious purposes but there are no other requirements. A good place to check is with Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA).

2. Are they socialized? This is always a funny one for me to answer. YES, they are socialized! We have several home businesses, which the children participate in. We get together with other HS families. The one neat thing with "socialization" with HS'd kids, is that they tend tsocializeze well with all ages, rather than kids just their age. Our children are not age segregated, and so learn to get along better with all ages.

3. Do you give them tests? Yes! And when we give them tests, if they do not do well, they have to go back and redo work so they do understand. We don't just keep moving them forward. And, when we start a new math book, I generally first give them tests to see where they would be in the book. So much of the math book is review at the beginning, for purposes of a "regular" school setting, when they may have forgotten a lot over the summer.

4. What about P.E.? Well, yesterday they went sledding for three hours - does that count? Our children do a lot of outside activities. Our older ones today are hauling wood to put in our basement.

5. You are so strange! Ahhhem . . . it's been said before!

6. I could never do this. I do have a lot of people say this to me, and my usual response is "If I can do it, anyone can." You fit it into your schedule. My husband worked 2nd shift for many years, and had our children been out of the home for school, he would not have seen them all week. Most kids in our area have this week off for winter break. We are still doing school, but can take other days off when we need to.

7. How do you do field trips? With our size family, we can qualify for a "large group" many times for museums, zoos, etc. But, we have gone with other homeschool families to the Grand Rapids Gypsum Mine, Meijer Gardens, Gerald R. Ford Museum, trips to various libraries, Grand Rapids Public Museum, Petra - Lost City of Stone, John Ball Zoo, Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, etc.

8. Are you qualified? Well, I know my children better than anyone else, and I can help not just with teaching academics, but also instill upon them Godly values and morals. Most schools will not do this. What I do not know, I learn along with the children and/or get outside help/tutoring.

9. What about graduation? There are various ways of doing this. We have only graduated one so far, and he did not want a "program" as such. We gave him a party. Some HS'd children participate in a large group with a formal graduation like in a high school. We know another family who had a party, but before it, had several people speak and give their blessings on the child. Some homeschool families do a curriculum through aorganizeded group, possibly where they mail in all the school work, and then they get an actual diploma from that school. We know another family who has a certified teacher come in their home once a month, and go over all the children's papers, and then can give the children a diploma.

10. What about the prom? This is one great reason NOT to homeschool! No pressure here!

11. Can they go to college? Sure can! Our oldest had to take the preliminary tests to get in, and has done fine with getting accepted and getting state grants. Many colleges are looking for homeschooled children.

12. Will they get a job? As with a non-homeschooled student, it really depends on the person, how they apply themselves, schooling, learning what they want to do, and working with it. Our oldest son is taking automotive and welding courses and has had several jobs in this area, and working on the side for friends and neighbors. He now has an internship job locally.